Biography

Carlos Salzédo was one of the most significant harpists and composers for the harp of the 20th century. As an educator, he introduced several innovations regarding harp performance and technique, and he redefined its role as a solo instrument. Salzédo was born in 1885 in the seaside community of Arcachon, in southwestern France. His parents were both musicians, and his older brother played the violin. By the age of three, he was already a talented pianist, and he performed for Queen Maria Christina of Austria. He composed his first works when he was five, and he was a student at the St. Cecilia School of Music in Bordeaux from 1892 to 1894. His father decided that Salzédo would learn the harp as his second instrument, and he studied initially with Marguerite Achard, followed by a year with Alphonse Hasselmans. He became a student at the Paris Conservatory in 1898, and continued his studies with Hasselmans. When he graduated in 1901, he won the premier prix for both the harp and the piano, and he began working as a pianist and harpist with conductor Piero Luigini in Biarritz. The following year, he toured Europe as a harp and piano soloist with the Colonne Orchestra conducted by Edouard Colonne. Salzédo had his debut as a recitalist in Paris in 1903, and he began working as the music director at a synagogue, a position previously held by his father. He continued in this capacity until 1909, when Arturo Toscanini invited him to New York to perform with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Salzédo enjoyed four successful years with the Met before he resigned in 1913. His decision to leave was encouraged by Toscanini, who recognized that Salzédo would likely be more successful as a soloist and recitalist. That same year, he formed the Trio de Lutèce with flutist Georges Barrère and cellist Paul Kéfer, and they toured the United States. In the spring of 1914, Salzédo married Viola Gramm, and they traveled together in Europe until the beginning of World War I, when Salzédo was drafted by the French military. He was discharged from service after being hospitalized for pneumonia and paralysis, and he returned with his wife to the U.S. in 1916. They started spending their summers in Seal Harbor, Maine, where Salzédo befriended many of the social elite, including Leopold Stokowski, Edgard Varese, and the Rockefellers. He also reunited his trio with Barrère and Kéfer, and in 1918 he formed the Salzédo Harp Ensemble with his students. In the 1920s he performed with these ensembles and as a soloist with several major American orchestras. He became heavily involved in harp pedagogy through his positions at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, and he co-authored Method for Harp in 1929. Beginning in 1931, he also led an annual "harp colony" educational summer retreat program in Camden. Salzédo continued composing, performing, and hosting annual harp colonies until his death in 1961. ~ RJ Lambert, Rovi