Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco was born in Florence in 1895. As a Jew, he fled in 1939 from Mussolini’s Italy to the United States, in mid-career as composer, conductor and teacher. He became an American citizen in 1946, which also marked the start of his composition-teaching at the Los Angeles Conservatory. A good deal of film music was written by him during his time in the States. At most times in his life a fluent composer, he reached Opus 208 by his seventies; the Sonatina for Flute and Guitar was one of his last pieces, written in 1965. He died in 1968. The guitar had always been one of his favourite instruments, for which he wrote fourteen works, plus three for two guitars, five for guitar and orchestra, a Concerto for two guitars, a Fantasy with piano and a quintet with string quartet.