Carlos Salzedo
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Carlos Salzedo (1885-1961), harpist and composer, was born in Arcachon, France. The child of musicians, he grew up to become one of the greatest harpists that ever lived, a virtuoso player unparalleled, a virtuoso pianist and conductor, and a primal teacher. He was a progressive spirit, seeking new resources in the harp, inspiring and creating new works and creating new styles of music. His composing progressed from French Romantic to Impressionist to a new style uniquely his own. He introduced and popularized Ravel's Introduction and Allegro to the United States in performances with the major symphony orchestras.
He appeared regularly as a soloist with orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, on tour as a recitalist, harp ensemble leader and flute-harp-cello trio member. His activity in the 1920s alone was astonishing in its fecundity, and he was a celebrity as well. He was compared to Wanda Landowska by no less a critic than Virgil Thomson, as a pioneer and as a fascinating performer.
He also performed historical music as well as the new, featuring French baroque music extensively on his programs. He was a piano pupil of de Beriot, the pupil of Chopin. He received the premier prix in both harp and piano on the same day, a feat never matched, when he graduated from the Paris Conservatoire at the age of sixteen.
His ideas led to the designs of two harps still manufactured by Lyon & Healy, the art-nouveau style 11 and the art deco Salzedo model.
He started the harp program at Curtis Institute, and the Salzedo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine with Lucile Lawrence.
He was married three times, to Viola (Mimine) Gramm, a singer, to Lucile Lawrence, his protégé and partner, and later to Marjorie Call, also a protégé and partner in performing.
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[edit] Life
[edit] France
Carlos Salzedo was born Charles Moise Léon Salzedo on April 6, 1885 at 11:30 a.m., two months prematurely; Salzedo's parents, Isaac Gaston Salzedo and Thérèse Judith Anna Silva (both musicians) had been vacationing in Arcachon when Anna Silva fell down a flight of stairs. Salzedo was always considered physically weak, suffering for most of his life from rheumatic fever, and his mother died when he was five. The family then moved to Bordeaux and a Basque woman was hired as a housekeeper-nurse-governess. Salzedo became deeply attached to her, sending her checks throughout his life, and liked to think of himself as Basque. Later, traditional Basque rhythms in five appeared in his compositions.
Carlos began playing piano at the age of three, and wrote his first composition, a polka, at the age of five. At six, he entered the St. Cecilia School of Music, where he won first prize in piano and solfège three years later, after which the family moved to Paris. Carlos entered the Paris Conservatoire at nine years old, where he again won prizes in piano and solfège. Salzedo's father decided Carlos should take up a second instrument, and harp was chosen, because he was too weak to play a wind instrument and his older brother Marcel played violin. Beginners were not accepted at the Conservatoire, so Carlos took lessons from Marguerite Achaud. A year later, he had advanced enough that he began studying with Alphonse Hasselmans, professor of harp at the Conservatoire. At sixteen, Salzedo won the "premier prix" in harp and piano on the same day, and was awarded a Steinway grand piano.
When Salzedo graduated, he was hired as a solo harpist, first harpist, and solo pianist at the New Casino in Biarritz, and made his Paris debut at 18 as a harpist and pianist in 1903, when he changed his name to Carlos (as a child, Salzedo was actually known as Léon-Charles), because he did not like the sonority of the French name followed by the Spanish surname. Also about this time, a stroke paralysed Gaston Salzedo, who handed over his position as choirmaster to Carlos. Salzedo also gave solo performances around Europe, receiving glowing praise in the papers.
[edit] America, Marriage, and War
In 1909, Arturo Toscanini invited Salzedo to play for the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Carlos left France for America, without knowing any English. Salzedo soon began moving in upper social circles, where he was introduced to Viola Gramm, a pianist and singer. She had studied in Paris, and soon became romantically involved with Salzedo, who gave her the nickname "Mimine," by which she was known. Together they traveled through the château country of France in 1913, and were married on April 30, 1914. Salzedo wrote a wedding cantata for the occasion, which was performed by his friends.
Salzedo had recently formed the Trio de Lutèce, with Georges Barrère on flute and Paul Kéfer on cello. The trio was scheduled to play in England, so Salzedo and Mimine took the opportunity to honeymoon in Europe; in England, they were introduced to various members of the nobility, and at one point, Salzedo played for the Princess of Battenberg. When World War I began, they moved to Menthon, Switzerland, hoping to spend time together, but Salzedo was drafted into the French Army.
Salzedo was made head cook for his infantry unit, and happened to be in the same unit as several painters and musicians. He had a sympathetic leader, and was able to organize them into a performing group that sang for soldiers and toured hospitals. He even got an extended leave to see Mimine for his work, but when he returned, a new captain was in charge who did not permit the musical activities. Salzedo also became ill with pneumonia and a form of paralysis, for which he was hospitalized for several months before being discharged from the army. In order to get passports (which had not been necessary in 1914) to leave France, Salzedo and Mimine got married a second time in August 1915.
[edit] Return to America
On the Salzedos' return in 1916, Carlos rejoined the Trio de Lutèce, but not the Metropolitan Opera, from which he had resigned in 1913. Salzedo and Mimine began spending summers in Seal Harbor, Maine, where Salzedo became friends with Vaslav Nijinsky, a Russian dancer with whom he developed a theory of gestures for the harp that later became part of the Salzedo method for the harp. In the Twenties, Salzedo and Mimine grew apart - she was spending more time in Rome, and Carlos was spending more time with the increasing number of students who were coming to him, though "not altogether in an artistic sense," as Dewey Owens said. They had an amicable divorce in 1926, and in 1928, 42-year-old Salzedo married 21-year-old Lucile Lawrence, who had begun her studies with him ten years earlier.
Salzedo lead many fund-raising efforts; one was to buy a pipe organ in Seal Harbor, with a matching donation from J.D. Rockefeller.
[edit] Trivia
Salzedo's pets
- When Salzedo's cat Bémol died, the skin was tanned and made into a rug.
- Salzedo also had a bullfinch named Baron Taraky, who had a small car, ate from Salzedo's plate and and was known to sip his wine.
[edit] Compositions, other than harp
(many early works were published by Costallat, but have apparently vanished)
- Berceuse for Cello and Piano, opus 72 (1907)
- Caprice Scherzando for Cello and Piano (1908)
- Invocation for Cello and Piano (1908)
- Piece Concertante for Trombone and Piano, opus 27 (1910)
- Rivalite de Fleurs for Voice and Piano, opus 25 (1911)
- Four Choruses in Old Sonata Form for 3 mens voices/choir and harp, organ or piano (1914)
- Prelude to Olaf Bolm for Piano (1926)
- Breaking in the New Year for Piano (1935)
- Offriam for Cello (1951)
- Volute and Rondel for Flute (1951)
- Marya Freund for Piano (1956)
- Enigme for Piano (1960)
[edit] Compositions for Harp, solo, chamber and soloist
- Trois Morceaux: Ballade op. 28, Jeux d'Eau, Variations sur un theme dans le style ancien (1910-11)
- Paraphrase (Cadenza) for Liszt's Second Rhapsody (a solo showpiece or cadenza for orchestral performance)
- Chanson Chagrine (1914)
- Five Preludes for Harp Alone (1917)
- Lamentation
- Quietude
- Iridescence
- Introspection
- Whirlwind
- Five Preludes on the name of Olga (Samaroff-Stokowski) (1917)
- Embryon
- Eveil
- Fete au village
- Hallucinations
- Fraicheur
- The Enchanted Isle, a tone poem for Harp and Orchestra (1918)
- Bolmimerie, for seven-harp ensemble (1918)
- Brise Marine, for soprano, oboe, horn, bassoon, six harps (1918)
- Five Poetical Studies for Harp Alone (1919)
- Flight
- Mirage
- Inquietude
- Idyllic Poem
- Communion
- Poems of Sara Yarrow, for soprano, oboe, horn, bassoon, six harps (1919)
- Ecstasy
- Despair
- Humility
- Preludes Intimes (1919)
- tenderly emoted
- dreamingly
- profoundly peaceful
- in self-communion
- procession-like
- Burlesque Sentimental (1920)
- Five Sketches on Friends of Mine (1920)
- Kyra Alanova
- Dane Rudhyar
- Edith Sullivan
- Sara Yarrow
- Edgard Varese
- Four Preludes to the Afternoon of a Telephone, for harp duo (1921)
- Audubon 530
- Plaza 4570
- Prospect 7272
- Riverside 4937
- Poem of the Little Stars (1921)
- Recessional (1921)
- Sonata for Harp and Piano (1922)
- Four Pieces for the Modern Irish Harp (1924)
- Sarabande variee
- Bi-tonal jig
- Pavloviana
- Prelude Nocturne
- Three Poems of Stephane Mallarme, for soprano, harp, piano (1924)
- Las de l'amer repos ou ma paresse offense
- Feuillet d'album (soprano solo)
- Une dentell s'abolit
- Nocturne to Ursula, for unspecified instrument, presumably harp or piano (1925)
- Concerto for Harp and Seven Wind Instruments, harp, fl/picc, cl A, ob, hn, bsn, trp C (1926)
- (three movements)
- Preludes for Beginners, harp, published in Method for the Harp (1927)
- (No titles for I-XI)
- XII Fanfare
- XIII Cortege
- XIV La Desirade
- XV Chanson dans la nuit (his most famous composition)
- Pentacle, suite for harp duo (1928)
- Steel
- Serenade
- Felines
- Catacombs
- Pantomime
- Preambule et Jeux, harp solo, fl,ob,bsn, str quintet (one movement)
- Prelude Fatidique, harp solo (1930)
- Prelude in the Nature of an Octave Study (editor's title) (1930)
- Untitled work, harp, brasses, strings (1930)
- Musique des Troubadours, soprano, harp, viola d'amore, viola da gamba (1931)
- Triptic Dance, harp duo or trio (1931)
- Short Stories in Music, harp (1934) Series I and II
- The Dwarf and the Giant
- The Kitten and the Limping Dog
- Rocking Horse
- On Donkeyback
- Raindrops
- Madonna and Child
- Memories of a Clock
- Night Breeze, harp solo or ensemble
- On Stilts
- Pirouetting Music Box
- Behind the Barracks, harp solo or duo
- At Church
- Goldfish
- The Mermaid's Chimes
- Skipping Rope, harp solo or duo
[edit] Compositions for the harp (whether original or arrangements of traditional tunes)
Ballade
Behind the Barracks
Chanson dans la nuit (Song in the Night)
Concerto for Harp and Seven Wind Instruments
Dixie Parade
Fraicheur
Introspection
Iridescence
Jeux D’Eau
Jolly Piper
Lamentation
Last Rose of Summer, The
Londonderry Air
Night Breeze
Pentacle
Poem of the Little Stars
Prelude for a Drama
Preludes Intimes
Scintillation
Song of the Volga Boatman
Suite of Eight Dances:
Gavotte, Menuet, Polka, Siciliana, Bolero, Seguidilla, Tango, Rumba
Traipsin’ thru Arkansaw
Turkey Strut
Two New Wedding Marches
Variations sur un theme dans le style ancient
[edit] Collections / books of music
Carlos Salzedo Collection
Christmas Harp Collection
Daily Dozen
Paraphrases on Christmas Carols Vol. 2
Short Stories in Music, Vol. 1
Short Stories in Music, Vol. 2
Sketches for Harpist Beginners, Volume 1
Sketches for Harpist Beginners, Volume 2
Suite of 8 Dances
The Star Spangled Banner
Tiny Tales, Vol. 1
Tiny Tales, Vol. 2
[edit] Arrangements and Transcriptions
Bouree J. S. Bach / Salzedo
Sixth French Suite J. S. Bach / Salzedo
Children Corner SuiteDebussy / Salzedo
Clair de lune Debussy / Salzedo
Concerto Mozart/Salzedo
Concerto in B-Flat Handel / Salzedo
Harmonious Blacksmith Sheet Music Handel / Salzedo
Jingle Bells ?/Salzedo
I Wonder as I Wander Niles/Carols Salzedo
La Cathedral EngloutieDebussy / Salzedo
La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin/Maid with the Flaxen Hair
Debussy / Salzedo
La Joyeuse Rameau/Salzedo
The Lord's Prayer Malotte / Salzedo
Meditation Massenet/Salzedo
Pavane Anon. / Salzedo
Prelude Ravel/Salzedo
Seven Spanish Songs DeFalla/Salzedo
Sonata in C Minor Pescetti / Salzedo
Spanish Dance No.5 Granados/Salzedo
Triptic Dance Beauchant/Salzedo
[edit] Technique books
The Art of Modulating Book Lawrence / Salzedo
Conditioning Exercises Carlos Salzedo
Method for the Harp Book Lawrence / Salzedo
Modern Study of the Harp Carlos Salzedo
Pathfinder to the Harp Lawrence / Salzedo
