Salvatore Mario de Stefano -- blurb, back
In the summer of 1964, the American Harp Society's US competition was held in NY City. In retrospect, my failure to win was the best thing that could have happened to me because the four judges who were out-voted by the five others included Alice Chalifoux, Pierre Jamet and Salvatore Mario de Stefano.
The 1981 NY Times obituary of Mr. de Stefano listed him as, "a concert harpist and composer, born 4 February 1892, died May 18 1981 at St. Clare's Hospital in Manhattan."
They continued,
"Mr. de Stefano made his debut in his native city of Cagliari, Sardinia, when he was 11. After studies at the Royal Conservatory in Naples, he was named professor of harp at the St. Dorothea Institute there.
"Coming to the United States in the 1920's, he was recognized as both a teacher and a performer. He had appeared as a soloist at the White House and on radio and television.
"Mr. de Stefano is survived by his wife, the former Agnese Penza, and two stepchildren, Saverio and Caroline."
In late 1964 or 1965, Mr. de Stefano came to Los Angeles touring with the Kirov Ballet. He visited our home before a performance of Swan Lake and, before dinner, gave me a lesson on how to perform a trill on one string.
One gains facility by moving mostly the elbow and NOT closing either the thumb or index finger. The lesson included holding a lime and trying to gain speed plucking the same string alternating between two fingers. To my complaint that it felt awkward, he retorted, "Of course, you're holding a lime. Get rid of that!"
That lesson gave me the inspiration and where-with-all to play the transcription of the second of two guitar transcriptions by Francisco Tárrega. One other thing that i only learned about a decade after the AHS competition in NYC was that Mr. de Stefano and Diana’s father knew each other from Naples, years before Diana’s parents first met.