A pupil of Pizzetti, the Italian composer, critic and pianist, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco is today better known for his guitar works and film scores. From 1940 to 1956 he worked for various film studios in Hollywood, contributing to some 250 productions, and in 1946 he became an American citizen. These highly evocative and atmospheric piano works of his youth, which include depictions of flora and fauna, pastimes and the sea, suggest the lyricism of Pizzetti and the impressionism of Debussy and Ravel.