HOUSTON (June 12, 2018) — The Houston Symphony announced today the international release of the first professional recording of Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Cello Concerto in more than 80 years featuring Principal Cello Brinton Averil Smith and the Houston Symphony. Digital downloads are available through Amazon and iTunes.
Acclaimed cellist Smith performs the virtuoso concerto inspired by cellist Gregor Piatigorsky. With its rare beauty and warmth of expression, the live recording also features the Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony under the direction of conductor Kazuki Yamada and transcriptions for cello and piano performed by Smith and his wife, pianist Evelyn Chen.
“As a child, I read Piatigorsky’s story of his debut of the Castelnuovo-Tedesco Cello Concerto with Toscanini, and ever since I’ve nurtured the dream of bringing it back to life,” said Smith. “The live recording documents the first professional performances of the composer’s melodic and fiery concerto in more than 80 years, paired with playful, virtuosic and freely-composed transcriptions of Mozart, Rossini and Ravel made for Piatigorsky and Heifetz, many recorded here for the first time ever.”
Smith’s debut recording of Rózca’s Cello Concerto received international acclaim, while his recording of Fauré’s chamber music with Gil Shaham was chosen by multiple reviewers as one of the year’s best. This release follows the successful Grammy Award-winning recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck. Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Cello Concerto is now available as a CD from Amazon and Naxos and as a digital download from Amazon and iTunes.
About the Houston Symphony
During the 2018-19 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its fifth season with Music Director Andrés Orozco- Estrada and continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring and recording activities. The Houston Symphony, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $33.9 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 900 community-based performances each year, reaching thousands of people in Greater Houston.
The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Naxos, Koch International Classics, Telarc, RCA Red Seal, Virgin Classics and, most recently, Dutch recording label PENTATONE. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category.
For tickets and more information, please visit houstonsymphony.org or call 713-224-7575.
HOUSTON SYMPHONY MEDIA CONTACT:
Mireya Reyna: (713) 337-8557, mireya.reyna@houstonsymphony.org
###