135 Jewish Composers characterized instead by fluid, watery textures and a brooding emotional intensity. Dedicated to her own piano technique, they showcase her flair for color and lyricism. They represent the "Golden Age" of Dutch music before the darkness of the 1940s descended. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968): Le danze del Re David (Dances of King David) Op. 27 (1925) I. Violento ed impetuoso II. Ieratico III. Rapido e selvaggio IV. Lento ed estatico V. Rude e ben ritmato VI. Malinconico VII. Allegro guerriero Descended from a prominent Italian-Jewish banking family in Florence, Castelnuovo-Tedesco was a star in Italy until Mussolini’s 1938 Racial Laws banned his music. The new laws, however, convinced him to leave Italy. He wrote to Arturo Toscanini, the former musical director of La Scala, and violinist Jascha Heifetz, explaining his plight, and both responded with support. Heifetz, an American citizen, began the paperwork to sponsor Castelnuovo-Tedesco as an immigrant in the United States. He fled there in 1939, eventually becoming a legendary and prolific film composer in Hollywood and a highly influential teacher to John Williams and others. Danze del Re David is a cycle of seven rhapsodic pieces, described by the composer as a "Hebrew Rhapsody." The music is highly virtuosic and cinematic. It utilizes archaic, modal harmonies to evoke the biblical antiquity of King David, yet pulses with a modern, almost aggressive rhythmic vitality. This work can be considered an unapologetic assertion of Jewish identity. Writing this in the 1920s, Castelnuovo-Tedesco was reclaiming his heritage with pride, creating a musical language that was both Italian and distinctly Jewish. Pavel Haas (1899–1944): Suite for Piano, Op. 13 (1939) I. Praeludium II. Con molta espressione III. Danza IV. Pastorale V. Postludium Haas was the star pupil of Leoš Janáček and a unique voice in Czech modernism. He was imprisoned in the Theresienstadt (Terezín) ghetto, where he continued to compose, before being murdered in Auschwitz in 1944.
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