Instruments of Worship

Introducing Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco | Ep. 6

• Casey • Episode 6

Share episode

Send Casey a text!!

In today’s episode, I am going to introduce you to Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco!  He was an amazing composer who was bold in his faith and has an incredible life story.  Like the Church in Smyrna, he faced persecution for his faith, but his story points us to greater boldness in proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord!  

Enjoy listening to Mario's Violin Concerto No. 2, "I Propheti." 

https://youtu.be/OxCzevnm1v4?si=YccPeYzqciort0Fv

https://youtu.be/6GQOfCBfrS4?si=QOZW7yAnCdk62VpV

Thanks so much for listening! Make sure to check back every Monday for a new episode!

Follow us on Instagram!

Check out more episodes on Buzzsprout and on Youtube!

SPEAKER_00:

Hi friends, my name is Casey Regenberger and I am so excited to welcome you to the Instruments of Worship podcast. This is a podcast dedicated to encouraging and equipping classical musicians to lift high the name of Jesus with their instruments, but also their lives. In today's episode, I'm going to introduce you to a composer you maybe have never heard of before. His name is Mario Castelnuevo Tedesco. This was a man who faced many difficulties in his life, but never stopped proclaiming his love for God through his compositions. I hope this story will inspire and encourage you to stand up for Jesus, no matter what trials you are faced with today. So it was the summer of 2023 and I was trying to figure out what rep I was going to play my senior year. I wanted to go out with a bang. I wanted to play things that I absolutely loved. And so I was doing some research on piano trios and different concertos that I might play. And I knew that I didn't want it to be too standard just because I think they could be a little overplayed at times, which I know is terrible. But I also knew that I didn't want it to be too far off the beaten path, like too crazy, too out there, too atonal, whatever. That's just not my style. So I was looking through IMSLP of all things, and IMSLP, if you've spent time on it before, it'll tell you, oh, here's a composer you might like, or here's another one that's similar to him, and then you just kind of keep going and finding all these different people. So I stumbled upon Mario Castelnuevo's Tedesco's Piano Trio No. 1 in G, which then quickly led me to find his violin concerto, his second violin concerto. I listened to it all and I just absolutely fell in love with it. It was perfect. It wasn't too crazy out there, but it was new and fresh and beautiful. There were only two full recordings on YouTube, one by Yasha Heifetz and the other by Itzhak Perlman. And I just loved listening to it. But then I felt even more in love when I researched about the composer, this composer that I had never heard of before. I just want you to sit back, relax, and enjoy as I tell you Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco's story. So, it was over a hundred years ago in Italy where our story sets its scene. In 1909, the young musician Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco graduated university with a piano degree and later a composition degree in 1918. Using what he learned at school, he started composing and come to find out he was good at it. He grew in popularity and accomplishments as he He made a career for himself performing, writing music critiques, and composing. He won a very prestigious prize for the comic opera he composed, and he even played in the Italian premiere of Le Nos by Stravinsky. All was well and looking very up for him, except for one small detail about his life. He was a Jew. Not only was he a Jew, but he was a composer who put his faith on full display in his music. He was not trying to hide it. Many of his compositions were written, inspired, and based on Jewish liturgy and the Bible. Some examples of this are his pieces like The Dances of King David, Hebrew Rhapsody on Traditional Themes, or The Genesis Suite, or Naomi and Ruth, or Prayers My Grandfather Wrote. You can kind of hear they have a theme of people we recognize from the Bible. And he wrote many other compositions that also have their roots in his Jewish faith. to me it's clear that this was a man who was not only proud of his heritage but also of his faith he was bold in a field that throughout history has seemed to grow more and more hostile to the god of the bible but mario continued on using the bible as inspiration for his compositions and it just kind of makes me wonder like did he ever question if he should be so overt about his faith did he ever fear what the response might be because Those are likely questions that we would have today. We may never know for sure, but one thing we do know is that he was an excellent composer. He used his musical gifts to glorify the Lord through beautiful and excellent music making, and he didn't seem to fear what other people would think of him. Unfortunately, that would get him in trouble pretty soon. But anyways, back to the violin concerto I discovered. Tedesco was friends with the world-known Jewish violinist Jascha Heifetz, who asked him to write a violin concerto. The end result of this request was Mario's Violin Concerto No. 2, titled I Profeti, which is translated to The Prophets. What's so cool about this is each movement in this work is based on a different Old Testament prophet, so those being Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Elijah. I would just so encourage you to listen to it, especially as a believer, to have connections with these prophets and to know their stories. It makes the concerto come to life even more. And the concerto even makes these stories, these prophets come to life even more. It's so cool. Another unique way that Tedesco incorporates his Jewish heritage into this piece is that the first movement develops a simple five note motive that is based on old Hebraic chant. Chants like these, if you don't already know, would have been the 9th and 10th century equivalent of Christian worship music today. So this almost would have been like using parts of or aspects of the song Goodness of God in a classical music work today. We may not be very familiar with specific Old Hebraic chants these days to pinpoint them in the piece, but when you listen to this concerto, one thing you can hear for sure is what I consider the soundtrack of Old Testament history. This concerto absolutely transports you back to this time to get to travel alongside the people of Israel as they hear the word of God through the prophets and as they worship him through his judgments proclaimed, but also his glorious redeeming promises. So again, I'd highly recommend you listen to this concerto. I'll link it in the description for sure, wherever you're listening to the podcast today. But again, we see through this example that he's not being secretive about his devotion to God and his faith. I'd say he's making it pretty obvious. Again, Tedesco's future was so bright until the political tides in Italy started to darken the world with anti-Semitism, and it was infiltrating countries all over Europe. By October 1938, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini enacted the Italian racial laws, which officially enforced segregation of Jews and native Africans living in Italy. Immediately, Mario is what we call today canceled because he wrote music that was inspired by his Jewish background. His music was no longer played on radios or in concert halls. I Profetti, the Violin Concerto, and many other music works like it were canceled because of how overtly Jewish they were. Does this sound vaguely familiar at all to the cancel culture we see today when somebody doesn't like what you're saying and they cancel you for it? So they wouldn't have called Mario canceled back in the day, but it was essentially the same idea and for sure much, much worse. Not only were his compositions and his career in danger, but so was his life because he loved God and expressed that through his music. Thankfully, with the help of Jascha Heifetz and the Italian conductor Toscanini, Tedesco was able to flee the growing tensions in Italy to find safety in America. He first settled in New York, but then he moved to California. And this is where the story gets super, super cool. And it really gives us a connection to Mario still today. You know that line that always roars at you before you watch a movie made by the MGM film studio? Well, that's where Tedesco signed a contract and where he continued to build his composing career once he moved to America. He settled in Hollywood and became one of the leading film composers of his time. He worked on close to 200 movie film scores with Universal, Warner Bros., and more, obviously studios that we recognize the names of today. He even became the teacher of the one and only Wait for it. John Williams. Where would movie music be without John Williams? Oh, my goodness. And where would John Williams be, though, if it wasn't for Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco? We may never know, but it does speak to how wide Mario's influence is today. even though he's not a household name that is a part of standard repertoire. Can you imagine Harry Potter, Star Wars, Home Alone, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Fiddler on the Roof, E.T., you name it, whatever your favorite John Williams film scores are. But where would they be without John Williams music? It's so important to any movie, but these are movies that have stood the test of time largely, probably, because of their amazing film scores. And I can just only imagine how inspired John Williams would have been by Mario's style just by listening to the Violin Concerto alone. And I think you'll notice it too. His style is very picturesque, very colorful, and he's great at evoking a mood, even in transporting you to a whole other world. When I listen to the Violin Concerto, I can even hear Indiana Jones-like qualities in it. So listen to it. Let me know what you think. I'd be curious if you hear what I'm hearing too. So before we move on, I just want to clarify some things if you may have questions. There are clearly some very major theological difference we as Christians have with religious Jews. The most obvious one is that Jews don't believe that Jesus was actually the Messiah. And I want to make very clear that there's a difference between the Jewish religion, but then also being Jewish in nationality. Someone may have Jewish national descent. A lot of the times it means that they're Jewish in religion all But it doesn't have to be. Just because you're Jewish in descent does not mean that you automatically believe those same things as Jews do. So it's kind of hard to differentiate between the two. A lot of the times, their nationality and their religion go hand in hand, but it doesn't always mean that. As Christians, though, we know that salvation only comes through faith in Jesus. Nothing and no one else can save us from our sins. Romans 10 9 says, if you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. However, it remains true that Judaism is where Christianity originated. Jesus was a Jew. The disciples were Jews. The prophets were Jews. King David was a Jew. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they were all the fathers of Israel. This is a people group that for centuries and centuries and centuries set themselves apart from the world to be consecrated to God. Since Abraham, since Adam and Eve, they've waited and waited and waited for the promised Savior, the promised Messiah. And because of it, they have faced slavery, ridicule, exile, persecution, captivity, mass murder, even poverty and so much more. As a people, their lives are isolated. marked by waiting they endured and waited and endured and waited again and endured and waited for so long until jesus my heart rejoices with the jews of the day that accepted jesus christ as lord and savior when he came praise god and there are people today who may still again have jewish descent and choose to believe in jesus as the messiah But my heart mourns for the Jews, whether by nationality or by religious affiliation, that have entirely missed the point. They've just missed it. They don't know Jesus as Lord of their lives. I think he's still just a prophet and they're waiting for their Messiah. They keep waiting. They keep enduring. And we still see anti-Semitism today. We've seen it throughout history, like in the Holocaust. It's so sad. And stories like Mario Tedesco's It's not unique. He joins the long line of musicians, artists, and composers who were canceled because of their Jewish background. Likely, you can think of another one or a couple off the top of your head right now. Jews throughout time have bore the persecution with gentle strength and clung to their heritage, their people, and their God through it all, even if it was messy at times. In the Old Testament, obviously, they were not 100% faithful, but they did endure for the Lord. So as a Christian today, I have a massive heart for people of Jewish descent for they have bore so much grief over time. And as Christians, we can empathize with their waiting because we too are waiting on the return of Christ in a world that is hostile to the God of the Bible and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But He was faithful to provide for the tired and weary Jews of the Old Testament. He brought Jesus. We know Jesus came and he will be faithful to come again. He will be faithful to provide for us now to sustain us through whatever it is that we come to weather. We can worship as we wait for him because we have hope. We have the Holy Spirit. We have the promises of God to cling to. And so that's why I agree for the unbelieving Jew, because they don't have this hope a No matter what, Mario's story does remind me of the church in Smyrna in the book of Revelation. In chapter 2, verses 8-11, Jesus, through John, wrote to this church to encourage them in their faithfulness despite persecution. Verses 8-9a say, to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, these are the words of him who is the first and the last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty. Smyrna was a city known for its beauty, for being a center of science and medicine, but also for being the hub of worship for the Roman emperor at the time. The church in Smyrna was a real church who was experiencing real poverty persecution, judgment, and suffering because they would only worship the one true God, not the Roman emperor. The author, Jesus, starts by describing himself as the first and the last, so the one that is outside time. And then he says,"...the one who died, and he died for my sake, for my sins, but then he rose to life to forever conquer Satan and sin." And he says,"...I see the hardships you face." I see what you're going through, all that you're enduring. Can you imagine Mario hearing those words? I see what you're going through. I see all the persecution to your people, how you had to flee your country, how you were canceled, your career was demolished because people didn't like that you worship the God of the Bible. And he says even more, I know your afflictions and your poverty and I It's true, Jesus knows the things that we have experienced because he's experienced those hardships. He himself came to earth and experienced poverty, judgment, even physical persecution. He knows. And what you're probably not expecting is right after that, still in verse nine, he says, I see the hardships you face. I know your affliction and your poverty, dot, dot, dot. Yet you are rich. 2 Corinthians 8, 9 says, So God sent his son down to earth, fully God, fully man. He left so much. He humbled himself and he became poor on our behalf so that we may have spiritual riches. jesus is saying even though you are physically poor you are spiritually rich because you have jesus you have everything you need even though the government had put financial strains on the church for worshiping the church of smera for worshiping god their treasures were stored up in heaven not on earth and he was encouraging them in that matthew 6 19 through 20 says do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. And so it's just convicting. We can ask ourselves, where are you storing up treasures? Are these treasures that can easily be taken from you? Or are these spiritual treasures that no one can touch? Again, another way to word it in a verbiage that we've used before on this podcast is just, is he the one thing that you're worshiping, the one thing you're going after? And again, in a performance-based career, it's very easy to just, nope, he's not. We're going to go after success. We're going to go after beating the next person in front of us. We're going to go after winning that audition and getting that recognition and feeling proud of ourselves and getting affirmation from people. But those things will all fade away. He's saying thieves, moths, vermin, whatever you want to think of will destroy them. They won't last. But you can have lasting spiritual riches by just knowing Christ and loving him and worshiping him above all else. He continues on and says, I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. So he knew that there are people that claim to believe, but really weren't and actually were, in fact, very hostile to the church. And he knew every hurtful thing they had said to that church, all the stinging words that his children had constantly just taken. But then he says, do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. But be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor's crown. God has never promised that this life would be easy and free from suffering. Many times in scripture, and as we even see here, he in fact says quite the opposite. And we should expect it, especially in a field that is typically so opposed to the God of the Bible. the non-believing classical musicians around us have many other little g gods or idols that they worship it's not that they don't worship anything it's just that they are opposed to jesus however god does promise that he will be faithful to us that's a promise that we can cling to that even though life is hard even though we're going to be strung through the ringer at times he will be faithful to us through it He knows that our self-preservation instincts and our sin will want to avoid persecution and harshness, maybe even be quiet and not stand for him because we know it will cause hardship and judgment. But he encourages the church and he encourages us to be strong and not to fear the hard, but to be faithful to the name of Jesus. Stand up for him. He stood up for us. He died for us. So we should be able to stand up in faith and proudly proclaim him as our king and our Savior. And at the end, he just says, they will receive a victor's crown. And that's our inheritance as Christians. It's eternal life with Jesus, our Lord and Savior in heaven, never ever having to then experience more pain or persecution or suffering ever again. That's been done away with once we're in eternity with our Savior. So the church of Smyrna is not a unique case. If you know church history at all, the Christian church has been marked by persecution, bloodshed of martyrs, and hardships. Many have given up their lives to obey and stand up for Jesus. So may we grow as classical musicians each day in strength to stand up for Jesus like they have, even just in our every day, not to be ashamed to say, I follow and I stand with Jesus. Whether that's conversations with people, in orchestra or through the music we compose like Mario being bold or the things we post on social media or how we respond to cultural pressures of our day we know you and I both know there are non-believing people around us in our classical music spheres that are watching the way that we act that are watching the things that we say and they may notice something a bit different about us and if they ask are you going to proudly say you stand with Jesus or are you going to be quiet And of course, none of this is to say, throw off your witness to Jesus. No, this is part of your witness to Jesus. We get to show them the love and the joy and the kindness and the peace and the fulfillment that comes through a life with Jesus. Philippians 3, 7 through 8 says, And what would we say? Would we say like Paul, I don't care what you take. Take it all. I have all that I need because I have Christ. And although we don't know the intricacies of Mario's faith, we do know that he was bold and not afraid to stand up. And we can take encouragement from that on ourselves to be bold and stand up for the name of Jesus. I'm also encouraged by Mario's story to just let my faith be evident through whatever it is I do. I think even playing this concerto, some people might even be afraid to play this concerto concerto of not knowing how people will react to what was written by a Jew and the movements are names of prophets. You know, I think even that's a way to stand up for Christ. Certainly like Mario, how he included the Bible in his faith, in his compositions. The Holy Spirit will guide you in your musical journey of ways that you can stand up for Jesus and creatively, right? We live in a very creative sphere. So use your creativity to show off Jesus, to give glory to him and I can't wait to see how the Holy Spirit might use your story to show him off. As Christians, sometimes it's easy to be shy about our faith and those fears because we're afraid about what people may think. But I pray that the Holy Spirit would empower us in boldness to just use our music in such amazing, excellent, beautiful, creative ways to show off the Lord. The Lord created music and it's really a way of getting to know Him more intimately. The world is our oyster and God may choose to use your music in such incredible ways to draw people closer to himself. So maybe start praying for that. Lord, how may you use my music, my performances, my rep, what I create to glorify you and to point others towards you too. Another thing I'm encouraged to do is to not give up. One thing is certain that Mario was tough. Even when the Italian fascist government persecuted him, shunned his music, and caused him to flee, he bravely came to America to build a new life and a very impressive career that has impacted so many Americans' lives legitimately. So don't give up. I know that sometimes there's burnout in the classical music world. There may... already be hardships that you're experiencing for being a Christian in that world. But don't give up. Your witness is so necessary and God absolutely has a purpose for right where he has you. Another thing I'm encouraged to do through this story is just to wait and then to worship through the waiting. Waiting can be really hard. The devil is prowling around seeking to destroy and there's evil and wickedness that abound all around us. But the Lord is coming again and we have that hope to look forward to that this world is not all that we have. that we have so much more in store and we get to be in the presence of the only one worthy of our worship through all of it. He is faithful to be near to us and to carry us through it all. He is worthy of our worship and he's coming back to redeem and restore us someday soon. And I pray that any unbelieving Jew will return to the Lord to profess Jesus as their savior and then worship him alongside of us as we wait for his second coming. Lastly, I just thought I am so thankful to live in a free country where we are able to play, to write, to sing, and to listen to whatever music we want, right? It's never like playing this on my senior recital is ever going to land me in jail or talking about Jesus to our friends in the classical music world is not going to land us in jail, right? We have these freedoms where we get to profess Jesus freely. We get to go to church. We get to listen. to worship music people get to create worship music these are all freedoms that not all countries and all people all over the world are able to enjoy so I'm just thankful for those freedoms and I don't want to miss the gift that they are As we saw in today's story, that's not always been the case throughout history. And I just can only imagine how thankful Mario must have felt when he escaped Europe, since many other Jews were not as fortunate. We sadly know how that ended. When his music was being erased in Italy because of his faith, imagine how relieving it would have been to come to a new place where he assumed the freedom to write however he pleased. Tedesco embraced America as his new home, and it embraced him back with freedom, opportunity, and a long life ending peacefully in 1968. Thanks so much for listening today, everybody. And I hope you really enjoyed today's episode. If you think you know someone who might be encouraged by this podcast, please send it to them and make sure to download, follow up and subscribe wherever you are listening. Unfortunately, I will actually be out of town next week, so I won't be able to record a podcast. I'm headed back to Baylor to catch up with my people there, catch up with my teacher. I'm so, so excited. So there will not be an episode on Monday, February 10th, but check on Instagram because there will be a little special social media something or other for you to keep your eyes open for. So check back on Instagram Monday, February 10th, and I'll see you after that.