Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Cello Concerto & Transcriptions

Featuring

Kazuki Yamada
Brinton Averil Smith
Evelyn Chen
Houston Symphony
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Maurice Ravel

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Recording & Production

This album features the first professional recording of several works by Castelnuovo-Tedesco for cello, due to his reduced American profile.

Notable Performances

The 1935 premiere of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Cello Concerto by Arturo Toscanini and Gregor Piatigorsky was not followed by another performance of such calibre for over 80 years, until this live recording by Brinton Averil Smith.

Composer Biography

Castelnuovo-Tedesco's professional career was divided between Italy and America, leading to a period of obscurity in the latter half of the 20th century.

Composition History

Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Cello Concerto was written at the request of cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, and includes an atypical double cadenza.

Historical Context

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, the composer, left Italy for America at age 44 due to Mussolini's Manifesto of the Race, which prohibited performances of his compositions and banned Jewish children from public schools.

Performer Biography

The Houston Symphony, featured on this recording, is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas and won an ECHO Klassik award and a GRAMMY® Award in 2017.

Performer Biography

Brinton Averil Smith, the cellist on this recording, was admitted to Arizona State University part-time at age 10 and completed a BA in mathematics at 17.