The Cello Concerto of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco performed here by American cellist (and Houston Symphony member) Brinton Averil Smith and the Houston Symphony under Kazuki Yamada has never been recorded, and apparently has never been heard since its premiere performance by Gregor Piatigorsky in New York in 1935. The fact that both Piatigorsky and Jascha Heifetz worked closely with Castelnuovo-Tedesco should tell you something, but much of his music has fallen into obscurity. This compact concerto is well worth the revival: ...
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The Cello Concerto of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco performed here by American cellist (and Houston Symphony member) Brinton Averil Smith and the Houston Symphony under Kazuki Yamada has never been recorded, and apparently has never been heard since its premiere performance by Gregor Piatigorsky in New York in 1935. The fact that both Piatigorsky and Jascha Heifetz worked closely with Castelnuovo-Tedesco should tell you something, but much of his music has fallen into obscurity. This compact concerto is well worth the revival: it is less Neoclassic than Romantic, but distilled to Neoclassic dimensions. The cadenza-like construction of the opening movement, with the orchestra trying to make sense of the soloist's utterances, is unique, and the five-minute slow movement, with instrumentation featuring harp and celeste, is quite lovely. The balance of the album consists of transcriptions by Castelnuovo-Tedesco of songs and operatic arias, or by Smith himself of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's music for violinists...
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