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Creator
Sodero, Cesare, 1886-1947
Call number
JPB 85-67
Physical description
0.5 linear feet (2 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Cesare Sodero scores, JPB 85-67. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Music Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Cesare Sodero scores contains original musical compostions and one arrangment by Sodero. There are no purely textual records within this collection; neither are there any materials documenting his extensive career as a conductor. Since Sodero functioned primarily a conductor, his musical compositions can be considered as an adjunct activity to his many conducting responsibilities.

Biographical/historical information

Cesare Sodero was born in Naples, Italy on August 2, 1886. Cesare Sodero was born in Naples, Italy on August 2, 1886. At the Naples Conservatory he studied with Giuseppe Martucci, graduating at age fourteen in 1900. The following year he made his conducting debut. He toured Europe as a cellist until 1906 when he was invited by Oscar Hammerstein I to join his opera company in New York. He was principal cellist of the Manhattan Opera Company until its demise in 1910.

Sodero then embarked upon a career conducting various opera companies. In 1914 he became principal conductor of the New York Recording Department of Thomas A. Edison. Between 1914 and 1925 Sodero participated in numerous recordings, particularly of operatic excerpts.

From 1925 through 1934, Sodero focused his energies on radio, conducting hundreds of operatic and symphonic broadcasts. He eventually became music director of the Mutual Radio Network. From 1934 to 1942 he was conductor of the Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York. From 1942 until his death, Sodero was a conductor of Italian opera at the Metropolitan Opera.

Cesare Sodero died December 16, 1947 in New York City.

Scope and arrangement

The Cesare Sodero scores contains original musical compostions and one arrangment by Sodero. There are no purely textual records within this collection; neither are there any materials documenting his extensive career as a conductor. Since Sodero functioned primarily a conductor, his musical compositions can be considered as an adjunct activity to his many conducting responsibilities.

As many of the scores lack a date, it can be challenging to gain a comprehensive view of Sodero's compositional career. Some of the scores are written on music paper produced by Belwin. As the company came into existence in 1918, it is a reasonable guess that most scores written on such paper date no earlier than 1920.

Some of the scores have a duration written on the title page or initial page. This strongly suggests that they were used by Sodero for radio broadcasts. Durations present on scores have been included in the notes for those scores.

The Cesare Sodero scores are arranged in two series:

Using the collection

Location

Music Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor