Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Cello Concerto
Briton Averil Smith, cello. Evelyn Chen, piano.
Houston Symphony/Kazuki Yamada
Naxos 8.573820
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

For whatever reason, Naxos has embarked on a variety of recordings featuring the music of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968).  Apart from his guitar concerto, his music does not seem to be performed quite as often.  His influence on American music can be heard in two of the composers that would study with him, Henry Mancini and John Williams.  The primary excitement over the present release is the resurrection of the composer’s 1935 cello concerto.

In many ways, the appearance of this work in the midst of immigration debates is somewhat apropos.  Castelnuovo-Tedesco struggled after emigrated to the United States after the rise of Mussolini.  He arrived in America without the great network of musicians he had built behind him and this often kept his music under the radar in his new country.  The concerto was written for the great Gregor Piatigorsky who premiered it under Toscanini in 1935 with no less than the New York Philharmonic.  But though concertos championed by Andres Segovia and Jascha Heifetz garnered the public’s attention, this particular work did not.  Piatigorsky essentially had the right to exclusively perform the work and though he did not give up the right, he did eventually cease performing it thus causing it to be forgotten.  Cast in F Major, the concerto is cast in a traditional three movement form.  The soloist opens the work with a forceful primary melody.  The orchestra soon gradually appears with flourishes of romantic color and support for a theme that is going to be varied as the movement continues.  The second thematic area has a nice dotted rhythmic idea with moments for long lyrical cello lines and brief spurts of virtuosic ideas.  This falling motif almost feels like a sigh for what was coupled with an insistence to survive.  The final bars have a sumptuous beauty as the cello works its way to its upper register.  This gets picked up in the lilting central movement which has a magical Hollywood quality to it.  There is even a light jazzy quality to the music as well which should certainly add to its appeal as it is simply gorgeous and full of subtle wit.  The final movement explodes with the orchestra setting up for the cello solo with a gradual build of excitement into an exhilarating finish that has an almost Resphigi-like feel.  One cannot help but think what Piatigorsky’s interpretation might have been like.  Smith certainly performs the work with great conviction and obvious appreciation for the many beauties of its lyrical moments.

Cellist Brinton Averil Smith has a penchant for bringing into the light great works of the past.  His recording here, made at concerts in April 2017, is an important achievement.  The second half of his program is a solo recital featuring several transcriptions by Castelnuovo-Tedesco of music by Mozart, Ravel, and Rossini, and a rare solo work of the composer’s as well.  Again, he had Piatigorsky in his ear as he developed these works.  The Mozart aria transcriptions from 1944 and the Rossini “Figaro” aria from 1943 were eventually taken up by the cellist after Heifetz urged him to reconsider playing them in concert.  These are all great additions to the solo cellist’s encore repertoire allowing the instrument to exploring its “singing” voice.  The transcriptions of two movements from Ravel’s Miroirs are basically the same with the addition of a cello voice.  The Impressionistic, and all too brief, final “Sea Murmurs” was arranged for Heifetz with Smith adapting to cello this music as well as the arias from Le nozze di Figaro.  These are all great miniatures that allow Smith to show off his own technique and interpretive qualities.  The Mozart features some equally sublime work by his accompanist Evelyn Chen whose technique and interpretive abilities are on equally fine display in the Ravel.

Raphael Wallfisch recorded this work on CPO in a series that will feature works by exiled composers who escaped the Third Reich.  It was released last year and not available for review.  There is certainly room for both.  Smith’s version features strong accompanimental support from the Houston Symphony.  There is an immediacy to the performance.  One can hear some subtle sounds from Smith, but the audience is inaudible

 Mozart/Beethoven: Violin & Cello Duos

Boris Abramov, violin. Carmine Miranda, cello.
Navona Records 6118
Total Time:  77:32
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

With a fine Schumann/Dvorak release, and as one of the youngest cellists to record the Bach suites, Carmine Miranda turns to the music of Mozart and Beethoven for this new Navona release.  Lest one think that some new musicological discoveries have been unearthed, this release of duos are arrangements for violin and cello.  Boris Abramov is the violinist here.  He is currently on the faculty of Columbus State University.

Perhaps at first glance one might balk at the “rewriting” of Mozart or Beethoven.  It was not uncommon into the latter 18^th Century for chamber music to be available for different combinations of instruments, but the practice that had been “normal” through the previous 200 years was beginning to change as composers focused on exploring the capabilities of the improving instruments and virtuosi of the time.  In Mozart’s case, the String Duos, K. 423/4 (1783) were dashed off for the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg.  They were included in a set by Michael Haydn to see whether or not the Archbishop could detect any difference.  Michael Haydn’s music, as adept as his more famous brother, maintains a classical poise and tends to be more cautious.  Mozart’s duos, originally for violin and viola, are mostly “safe” structurally, but brought the two instruments more closely to an even footing.  One can also hear in the opening allegro of K. 423 the somewhat Baroque-like counterpoint that Mozart tended to blend into the more typical phraseology and structure of developing Classical style.  The slow movements are likely where one gets a better glimpse of the melodic and lyrical beauty of Mozart with the outer movements providing some flashes of wit.  The central slow movement of K. 424 has some quite exquisite harmonic turns that one finds in the quartets.

Though the rich quality of the viola is one of the interesting components of these duos, the shift to cello will likely fluster purists.  It is certainly aided by Miranda’s excellent lyrical playing here in the upper register.  Abramov also has a fine command of this music.  The performances work rather well with those slow movements really be the highlight of this recording.

Beethoven wrote three duos for clarinet and bassoon (WoO 27)which were published in 1815, but more likely written earlier.  The composer had hoped to study with Mozart but the latter died before that occurred and so had to work from whatever published music was available to him.  At least one of the duos bears a key similarity.  While in terms of register, the shift to strings here is not a big leap, but here is more a case where the original lets us here Beethoven seeing what the clarinet can do and we might even be so bold to think he was interested in these particular wind colors for a reason.  That said, these arrangements allow us to hear this music in this new light.  We can glimpse some of the possible similarities between what Beethoven was trying to “copy” in terms of counterpoint and line.  The arrangement has been filled in a bit to allow for some double stops and string-specific effects that help with the shift to the strings here.  Both performers feel very comfortable here in this music with the interactions making the music even more enjoyable.  This comes through quite well in the final rondeau of the C-Major Duo.  The ”aria” slow movement for the F-Major duo is also quite beautiful.

The balance here is excellent.  Sometimes the cello line might be a bit too much bass, but this is easily remedied and more an issue of taste.  It is most noticeable in the Mozart, and nonexistent in the Beethoven.  The album notes that these are performances made without edit.  This is equally impressive as it gives the listener a chance to hear essentially a “live” concert without the extraneous noise.  But more importantly, it allows us to hear the longer shape of these pieces unfold in real time.  The result is that the architectural shape of the music is clear and the repeated sections have that sense of just slight variation that comes in live performance in a good way.