Scipione Guidi (Venice, July 17, 1884 - Los Angeles, July 7, 1966) was an Italian violinist.

Biography

Guidi studied at the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

, where he later became a teacher. He moved to London where he formed the Trio Guidi and later moved to New York. His career was predominantly as a first violin. From 1919 to 1921 he was the first violin of the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

of New York, which was absorbed by the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

in 1921. Unlike many National Symphony musicians, who were not retained, Guidi was named the first violin of the New York Philharmonic. In 1919 he formed the New York Trio, with pianist

Clarence Adler Clarence Adler (1886-1969) was an American musician from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was a pianist, and a soloist for many leading orchestras in the United States and abroad. He was the private music instructor for composer Aaron Copland. Adler was ...

(father of Richard Adler) and Cornelius van Vliet at the cello, but left this group in 1923 due to the growing commitment with the orchestra. He remained in the first violin of the New York Philharmonic for a decade, from 1921 to 1931, under the direction, among others, of

Willem Mengelberg Joseph Wilhelm Mengelberg (28 March 1871 – 21 March 1951) was a Dutch conductor, famous for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Strauss with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest s ...

and

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

. During this period, the Philharmonic merged with the

New York Symphony The New York Symphony Orchestra was founded as the New York Symphony Society in New York City by Leopold Damrosch in 1878. For many years it was a rival to the older Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York. It was supported by Andrew Carnegie, ...

and the name of the orchestra passed from the Philharmonic Society of New York to the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York. During all these changes Scipione Guidi continued to lead the orchestra as the first violin. He appeared as a soloist for at least 12 times playing great solo repertoire (Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Beethoven: Triple Concert and Concerto for Violin, Saint-Saens: 3rd Concerto for violin, Bach: Concerto for 2 violins, Mendelssohn: Concerto for violin, Brahms: Double concert (with Cornelius van Vliet)). He also gave solo recitals accompanied by pianist

Alice Marion Shaw Alice Marion Shaw (born August 22, 1890) was an American composer, pianist, and teacher who was a well-known accompanist during the early 20th century. Shaw was one of three children born in Rockland, Maine, to Reverend Eurastus Melville Shaw an ...

. One of his famous performances was between December 11 and 13, 1928, in the recording of Richard Strauss's

Ein Heldenleben ''Ein Heldenleben'' (''A Hero's Life''), Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898. It was his eighth work in the genre, and exceeded any of its predecessors in its orchestral demands. Generally agreed to be aut ...

, with the great French hornist

Bruno Jaenicke Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

under the direction of Willem Mengelberg. In 1931, Guidi left the New York Philharmonic to move to St. Louis, where he was named first violin by Saint Louis Symphony by

Vladimir Golschmann Vladimir Golschmann (16 December 18931 March 1972) was a French-American conductor. Biography Vladimir Golschmann was born in Paris. He studied violin at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. He was a notable advocate of the music of the composers ...

. Guidi later moved to Los Angeles, where he became a successful musician in the orchestras of Hollywood studios. He recorded with, among others, singer

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

. He was also director and soloist of Glendale Symphony. He died in Los Angeles, California, July 7, 1966.

External links

Digitized programs
featuring Guidi in the New York Philharmonic Archives

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guidi, Scipione 1884 births 1966 deaths Concertmasters of the New York Philharmonic Italian violinists Musicians from Venice 20th-century violinists Italian emigrants to the United States