Starter Packs

Complete your collection with these curated titles, grouped at a special discount.

Shop Now
Naxos

Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Cello Concerto & Transcriptions / Smith, Chen, Yamada, Houston Symphony

$9.99
$19.99 Save 50%

Details

Composer
CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO, MARIO
Artist
Smith, Chen, Yamada
Format
CD
Label
Naxos
Released
Jun 08, 2018
Catalog #
8573820
UPC
747313382071

About

Inspired by the personality, prodigious technique and musicality of the cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Cello Concerto is a work of imposing scale and demanding virtuosity, but also with a rare beauty and warmth of expression. This live recording documents the first professional performances of the concerto in more than 80 years, and is paired with playful and virtuosic freely composed transcriptions for cello and piano of Mozart, Rossini and Ravel that Castelnuovo-Tedesco made for Piatigorsky and Heifetz. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s career was interrupted by his move to America in 1939 to escape the Fascist regime in Italy. He worked as a film composer in Hollywood, and as a result his concert works have become neglected, and he is now best remembered as a composer for the guitar. There is something of an ongoing revival however, of which this program is a part. Acclaimed cellist Brinton Averil Smith appeared on the Naxos ‘American Classics’ album of music by Steven Gerber, in which Smith’s performance was widely lauded by critics. His virtuosity and musical ideas rooted in the golden age of string playing make him a favorite of audiences all over the world.

-----

REVIEW:

There’s a cinematic feel and scope to the Cello Concerto, primarily during the first movement, with plenty of expressive lines and passages that Brinton Averil Smith projects with aplomb.

The other pieces and arrangements on this CD are a pleasure to hear, most particularly Brinton Averil Smith’s own arrangement of Figaro, from the Barber of Seville, with Evelyn Chen on the piano. Their playing well projects the comical elements of this famous opera aria.

– Classical Music Sentinel

Tracklist 10 tracks

  1. 1 I. Sostenuto ed appassionato 13:42
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Sostenuto ed appassionato
    Duration
    13:42
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith
    Ensemble
    Houston Symphony
    Conductor
    Kazuki Yamada
  2. 2 II. Allegretto gentile 05:33
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Allegretto gentile
    Duration
    05:33
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith
    Ensemble
    Houston Symphony
    Conductor
    Kazuki Yamada
  3. 3 III. Vivo e impetuoso 11:16
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Vivo e impetuoso
    Duration
    11:16
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith
    Ensemble
    Houston Symphony
    Conductor
    Kazuki Yamada
  4. 4 Don Giovanni, K. 527, Act II: Canzonetta: Deh, vieni alla finestra, "Serenade" (arr. M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco for cello and piano) 02:31
    Track
    4
    Title
    Don Giovanni, K. 527, Act II: Canzonetta: Deh, vieni alla finestra, "Serenade" (arr. M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco for cello and piano)
    Duration
    02:31
    Composer
    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith, Evelyn Chen
  5. 5 No. 1. Voi che sapete 02:57
    Track
    5
    Title
    No. 1. Voi che sapete
    Duration
    02:57
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith, Evelyn Chen
  6. 6 No. 2. Non so più 02:49
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 2. Non so più
    Duration
    02:49
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith, Evelyn Chen
  7. 7 No. 4. Alborada del gracioso 06:17
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 4. Alborada del gracioso
    Duration
    06:17
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith, Evelyn Chen
  8. 8 No. 5. La vallée des cloches 05:05
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 5. La vallée des cloches
    Duration
    05:05
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith, Evelyn Chen
  9. 9 Rossini - Figaro from the Barber of Seville (arr. B.A. Smith for cello and piano) 05:43
    Track
    9
    Title
    Rossini - Figaro from the Barber of Seville (arr. B.A. Smith for cello and piano)
    Duration
    05:43
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith, Evelyn Chen
  10. 10 33 Shakespeare Songs, Op. 24: Vol. 6, No. 2. Arise, "Sea Murmurs" (arr. J. Heifetz for cello and piano) 01:40
    Track
    10
    Title
    33 Shakespeare Songs, Op. 24: Vol. 6, No. 2. Arise, "Sea Murmurs" (arr. J. Heifetz for cello and piano)
    Duration
    01:40
    Composer
    Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
    Performer
    Brinton Averil Smith, Evelyn Chen