About Guido Cantelli
Guido Cantelli (Italian: [ˈɡwi.do kanˈtɛl.li]; 27 April 1920 – 24 November 1956) was an Italian orchestral conductor. Toscanini elected him his "spiritual heir" after witnessing him conduct at La Scala, Milan in May 1948. He was named music director of La Scala in November 1956, but his promising career was cut short only one week later by his death at the age of 36 in the 1956 Paris DC-6 crash in France en route to the United States. Known for his luminous musicality, attention to detail, perfectionism and rigorous structural fidelity, Cantelli was considered in his time one of the most promising conductors in the world, and is credited as one of the most talented in history. In 1961, the Cantelli Awards, an international music competition, was founded in Italy in Cantelli's honour. The competition has since grown to become one of the most prestigious competitions for conductors in the world. == Biography == === Early years === Cantelli was born on 27 April 1920 in Novara, Italy, to Antonio, bandmaster of the Seventeenth Artillery Regiment, at the time stationed in Novara, and Angela (née Riccardone). He had a brother, Giuseppe, seven years his senior. He started studying music while still very young. A gifted child, Cantelli first directed the choir of the Basilica of San Gaudenzio in his native Novara at 8 years old.
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