Castelnuovo-Tedesco: The Carnival of Venice (1944)

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968) was an Italian composer and known as a prominent guitar composer in the twentieth century. In 1939 he immigrated to U.S. and became a successful film composer.

"Candide" Op.123 is six musical illustrations for the novel by Voltaire. "The Carnival of Venice, Variations on a well-known theme" is the fifth piece After a mysterious introduction portlating quiet foggy morning (maybe), the theme appears reservedly with nostalgic taste. Five variations follow. The extraneous melody in the end is labeled "Candide" in the sheet music, depicting the sentiment of the proponent in the scene.

I found this piece listed in "Music for the Piano" by Friskin and Freundlich. Fortunately or Unfortunately I spotted an youtube clip played by Aldo Ciccolini. I listened to it and arrogantly thought that I might find some improvements over this great pianist. The sheet music is full of instructive directions from the composer and detailed hair pins (creac. and dim.) show that the composer was keen to have good diminuendos in this piece. It is very difficult partially because the piece is mostly written in p or pp.

My performance is rhythmically correct, but pianists should do more on this piece. This piece should sound more atmospheric and at the same time objective.

instrument: Yamaha C7