Carlos Salzedo

Salzédo [Salzedo; Salcedo], Carlos (Léon)
(b Arcachon, 6 April 1885; d Waterville, ME, 17 Aug 1961).

American harpist and composer of French birth. He graduated from the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 16, an unprecedented winner of the premier prix in two instruments. In 1909 he moved to New York, where he was engaged as the first harpist of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra under Toscanini for four years. In 1913 he founded the Trio de Lutèce and in 1917 the Salzédo Harp Ensemble; he also played in and helped to found and promote other ensembles worldwide. A champion of contemporary music, he assisted Varèse in organizing the International Composers’ Guild (1921) and was active in ISCM, the New Music Society of California (under the direction of Cowell), the Pan American Association of Composers and Pro-Musica. He established the harp department at the Curtis Institute of Music (1924), founded the Salzédo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine (1931), and taught at the Juilliard School. Other activities included serving as editor of the Eolian Review (later Eolus) and president of the American Harp Society. In 1931 Lyon & Healy (Chicago) began to produce the first Salzédo Model Harps.