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

Gershwin/Bernstein/Ravel/Wagner
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Daniel Barenboim
Warner Classics & Jazz 2564 69816-5
Total Time:  66:36
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has one of the best discographies of any orchestra due in large part to its recorded history with the RCA label under Fritz Reiner.  The orchestra’s ability to capture the world’s best conductors has meant that it has plenty of duplication in its recorded catalogue to demonstrate how its sound can be shaped by different conductors.  Some may find it surprising that of the works represented here the Gershwin has only been recorded only once before with James Levine; the Bernstein appears to be the orchestra’s first recording.  They are coupled here with reissued performances of the Ravel and Wagner from earlier releases.

Barenboim’s performance of Gershwin’s Cuban Overture may be one of the longest on record timing in at 11:11.  Intriguingly the music only feels a bit too slow near the beginning of the piece and moves more musically as a result into its slower central section.  The orchestra plays a bit more crisply which ends up giving the music the impression that is moving along at a quicker pace.  Barenboim also shapes the work a bit allowing it to grow in intensity over time the way Leonard Slatkin did in his classic St. Louis Symphony recording.  You cannot fault the performance by the CSO which is simply gorgeous where it needs to be and excitingly spot-on rhythmically when it counts.

Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story Symphonic Dances has had plenty of great recordings and this is a fine one.  It too illustrates the orchestra’s richness and clarity of rhythm.  Barenboim’s tempos though here too feel a bit on the slow side though within the context of this performance are well-shaped overall and taken on their own make good sense.  It helps that the recording itself places the orchestra well in the sound picture.  Another thing in this disc’s benefit is that the individual movements of the dances are given their own track access.  Overall, Barenboim’s fast tempos tend to be fairly traditional and spot on while the slower sections are slightly slower than one normally hears but the music never seems to drag somehow and the performance is quite engaging with the sort of attention to orchestral detail that is often glossed over in this work.  Also of interest is that Barenboim does not appear to simply beat time, instead he helps shape and interpret the music creating a more intimate overall result that is not simply trying to match Bernstein’s own interpretation.  Some will find this quite valid and it is definitely pulled off here quite well.

If you missed the earlier release of the Ravel Daphnis et Chloe Suite No. 2 and the music from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde that reappear here they will make interesting bedfellows to the American pieces that comprise the first half of the disc.  Still these are critically acclaimed performances that help make the disc a great testament to the musicality of its current conductor.  Overall this is a great demonstration disc with great sound quality that will be perfect for fans of the orchestra.  The repertoire is practically of the warhorse variety though at least these performances should stand up to repeated listening.