Gualdo, John (Giovanni)

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Gualdo, John (Giovanni)

Gualdo, John (Giovanni), Italian musician and wine merchant; b. place and date unknown; d. Philadelphia, Dec. 20, 1771. He arrived in Philadelphia from London in 1767 and opened a store. Among other things, he sold instruments and taught violin, flute, guitar, etc. He also arranged music and presented concerts, the first of which, given in Philadelphia on Nov. 16, 1769, was devoted largely to Gualdo′s own compositions, and may well be regarded as the earliest ′′composer′s concert′′ in America. He died insane. His 6 easy evening entertainments for 2 mandolins or 2 violins with a thorough bass for the harpsichord or violincello are in MS in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. The printed op.2, 6 Senates for 2 German flutes with a thorough bass (his name appears as Giovanni Gualdo da Vandero), is in the British Museum.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire