Guido Cantelli (; 27 April 192024 November 1956) was an Italian orchestral conductor. Toscanini elected him his "spiritual heir" after witnessing him conduct at La Scala, Milan in May 1948.
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. 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. By the age of 10, he had written his first Mass and was at times appearing as the organist, even "playing themes from Tristan und Isolde during services", At about 7 he started to play the piano, often playing in a trio consisting of himself on piano, his older brother on violin and a friend on cello, From 1939 until 1941 he studied with Arrigo Pedrollo, and then, from 1941 until 1942, with Giorgio Federico Ghedini and Antonino Votto. He graduated from the Milan Conservatory in 1943. while others claim he was deported by the Nazis as a weak conscript, and possibly never even asked to fight. participating in its cultural programme. possibly around 80 pounds (36 kilograms). Thus, the Germans sent him to a hospital near Bolzano. He was later helped to escape from the hospital to Novara by the local chaplain, He slowly restarted his musical career, directing La bohème in Biella in March 1944, and La traviata, Madama Butterfly, and Werther at the Teatro Coccia in Novara in April and May 1944. In November 1946, Cantelli also directed the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, while in 1947 he collaborated with Combined Service Entertainment, providing music for British troops in Italy—which had remained behind after liberation to assist in the task of reconstruction—receiving a standing ovation after each concert.
Cantelli was acclaimed by the public and the critics alike. However, in spite of all the compliments and the success, his attention was not diverted from his studies. He kept on studying with "scrupulous commitment and professionalism." allegedly exclaiming, in the middle of the concert, "That's me!".
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On 3 January 1952, Cantelli was welcomed again by the American public, conducting the New York Philharmonic. and was already performing in the greatest theatres in Europe and America by 1945, He was 36 years old. Toscanini, who was in failing health and died less than two months later, was not informed of Cantelli's death.
At the time of his death, Cantelli was being considered as the next music director of the New York Philharmonic, as successor to Dimitri Mitropoulos; instead, Leonard Bernstein (who also guest conducted the NBC Symphony) was appointed conductor of the Philharmonic in 1958.
A "sensible and refined artist", Cantelli is remembered as a "living presence in the Italian music world", especially as an "admirable example of professional seriousness, whose artistic commitment was constantly aimed at achieving a severe and unquenchable stylistic perfection". electing him as his "spiritual heir". Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Paul Hindemith's Symphony: Mathis der Maler, Liszt's 2nd piano concerto with Claudio Arrau, and shorter pieces by Ravel (ALP 1207), Rossini, and others. He recorded Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with the New York Philharmonic for Columbia Records. He also recorded a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony with The Philharmonia Orchestra [HMV].
His one surviving opera performance is a Così fan tutte, from La Scala in 1956. There is also a live recording of the Verdi Requiem (with Herva Nelli). He conducted the Mozart Requiem at La Scala in 1950. There are live recordings with the New York Philharmonic of Beethoven's first and fifth piano concertos, with Rudolf Serkin as soloist, from 1953 and 1954, respectively.
The Franck, Brahms 3rd, Schubert 8th, and Beethoven 7th symphonies were among his few stereo recordings. Just before his death, Cantelli recorded the final three movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in stereo for EMI, but did not record the first movement, due to a construction project outside London's Kingsway Hall. In recent years, many performances from broadcasts and recording sessions with the NBC Symphony, from 1949 to 1954, have been made available.
Legacy
There are streets named after Cantelli in several Italian cities, and in Brazil (São Paulo city's South Zone). In 1998, Novara's city conservatory was named after him.
thumb|200px|The [[Conservatorio Guido Cantelli|Guido Cantelli Conservatory in Novara.]]
In 2020, a 10-disc set, with remastered LP-era tracks of Cantelli's studio recordings was released by Warner. Though his recording career was short, Cantelli nonetheless left behind a precious series of recordings. Cantelli's recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with the New York Philharmonic
has remained a "perennially popular historical recording". On Italy's Liberation Day 2026, an episode of Momus – Il caffè dell'Opera titled "The Talent of Guido Cantelli" (Il talento di Guido Cantelli) aired on Rai Radio 3.
In 1961, the Cantelli Awards were established in Cantelli's name. Widely regarded as one of the most prestigious international conducting competitions and a "stepping stone for rising conductors", the awards recognize excellence in conducting, honouring the best young conductor at the international level. Awarded biennially, the Cantelli Award was won by many notable conductors at the beginning of their careers, including Riccardo Muti, Eliahu Inbal, Ádám Fischer and Lothar Zagrosek.
Cantelli and Bilucaglia had a son together, Leonardo, who was but 5 months old at the time of his father's death.