ICAMus presents a session of papers and live music performance at the “Intersections/Intersezioni” Conference (Florence, June 5-7, 2015).
An ICAMus Session at "Intersections/Intersezioni".
ICAMus presents a session of papers and live music performance at the “Intersections/Intersezioni” Conference (Florence, June 5-7, 2015).
The event is sponsored by N.E.V.I.S. (New Echoes and Voices in Italian Studies), NeMLA (North East Modern Language Association), GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, Chico, THE COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS - TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES - THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY, BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY. The Conference is hosted by CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM - FLORENCE, ITALY, and KENT STATE UNIVERSITY, FLORENCE PROGRAM - ITALY.
The ICAMus Session focuses on Florence-Born US Composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) and his unpublished settings of Whitman & Shakespeare poetry. The Session includes live performance of rare, unpublished songs. Participants: Aloma Bardi, Salvatore Champagne, Howard Lubin, John Champagne, Mila De Santis, Eleonora Negri.
Session Description and Program.
Florence-Born US Composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
(1895-1968)
And His Unpublished Settings of Whitman & Shakespeare Poetry.
With Live Performance
Description
Florentine Jewish pianist and composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was a highly educated, internationally renowned, and largely published musician. In 1939 he fled Italy following the enforcement of the Racial Laws. In the United States, he became an American citizen and an American composer; as such, he gave a significant contribution to film music, while still producing a large output of concert music.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s unpublished settings of American poets, particularly Whitman, and of Shakespeare’s Sonnets are a unique dialogue between music and poetry, and between the Old and the New World. A daring choice during the fascist era, the Whitman settings were written in Italy in 1936; the Shakespeare Sonnets reveal the composer's continuing love for poetry and the English language in later years. This proposal wishes in turn to establish a dialogue between the “Intersections” Conference and the June 8, 2015 Florence events of ICAMus, in collaboration with Oberlin Conservatory of Music, The University of Florence, and Lyceum Internazionale Firenze. There would be no duplication of content within the 2 events ("Intersections" Conference and June 8th). This proposal is presented and coordinated by ICAMus, that has made this project possible.
Program
Aloma Bardi (ICAMus - The International Center for American Music) - Introduction. Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s unpublished settings of Whitman and Shakespeare.
Salvatore Champagne (Oberlin Conservatory of Music) Tenor; Howard Lubin (Oberlin Conservatory of Music) Piano - Live performance of song selection; Unpublished pieces and premieres.
John Champagne (Penn State Behrend) - Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s "Leaves of Grass" and the ambiguities of Whitman’s reception under Italian Fascism.
Mila De Santis (The University of Florence), Eleonora Negri (Lyceum Internazionale Firenze and The University of Florence) - Italian American music studies. Greeting on behalf of Florentine institutions and invitation to “Intersections” Conference participants to attend as special guests the June 8, 2015 events in Florence.
Total Duration: A Session of 90 mins., inclusive of live performance of rare, unpublished songs of Italian American composer Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and of discussion time.
