With over 200 film scores to his name, it’s more likely that you’ve heard Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s music than his name. Castelnuovo-Tedesco was born in Florence in 1895 into a family that had been in Italy for generations, since the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. His career as a composer began with conservatory study in Italy, and by the 1920s he was beginning to garner attention in greater Europe. In 1932 Mario began a lifelong friendship with the guitarist Andres Segovia, who inspired perhaps his most famous work, the Guitar Concerto No.1, and became an important champion of his music. It is largely due to Segovia’s influence that Mario wrote over 100 works for the guitar, which today form an important and frequently heard part of that instrument’s repertoire. At the same time Mario forged friendships with other notable musicians including Toscanini, Heifetz and Piatigorsky. With the rise of Mussolini and the racial laws, Mario sought shelter in America. In 1939,Toscanini sponsored his immigration, and Heifetz procured a contract for him at MGM, scoring films, as Korngold and Rozsa were also doing. Until his death in 1968, Castelnuovo worked prodigiously, scoring hundreds of movies (many uncredited) while simultaneously composing a surprisingly large number of classical compositions as well, including his second violin concerto, commissioned by Heifetz. Though Castelnuovo was not as famous as some other studio composers, perhaps his greatest Hollywood legacy will be as a teacher, with students that included Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, André Previn. Jerry Goldsmith, and John Williams. Today, as we continue to re-evaluate the merit of works by once disdained composers like Korngold, Castelnuovo’s reputation as a classical composer is also on the rise. It is certainly true that something doesn’t have to sound beautiful to be great art, but finally we are also considering that having a melody doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t art, either!