Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Piano Concertos 1 & 2; Solo Piano Works / Pietro Mass, piano

Recommendation

This recent release on the Capriccio label offers some rarely heard music for piano by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, including three world-premiere recordings. The two-CD set includes both of the composer's piano concertos as well as an entire disc of solo piano works. The concerto recordings were taken from a live 2011 performance by pianist Pietro Massa and the Neubrandenburger Philharmonie under Stefan Malzew (although you can hardly tell they're live, so silent is the audience and fine the recording). All of the solo piano pieces were recorded by Mr. Massa in the studio.

Before the Second World War, Castelnuovo-Tedesco fled fascist Italy and, like so many European artists, emigrated to the U.S., settling in Hollywood. With the help of Jascha Heifetz and Arturo Toscanini, he became a very successful composer of film music. He is primarily known for his compositions for guitar, and it is these pieces which are best represented on CD. Aside from his film music, Castelnuovo-Tedesco's orchestral output is relatively small - two concertos each for violin, guitar and piano, one for cello and a dozen or so overtures.

The Piano Concertos nos. 1 & 2 come from 1927 and 1937 respectively. Both are vivid, sunny works, melodic and lushly scored. Traditional in terms of form and orchestration, there is no evidence of the Second Viennese School and the radical changes music was undergoing in Europe at the time. So you can get a feeling for how this music sounds, I've provided the concluding third movement of the Second Piano Concerto as a sample of this recording. You can also hear the lovely Alghe of 1919 for solo piano in the video below.

Most of the solo piano works in this set come from the second decade of the 20th century. They are largely impression pieces inspired by subjects of art, literature and geography. With harmonies that are more chromatic than in the two piano concertos, tonal centers are further veiled in most of the solo piano works. In all of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's music, but especially in these solo piano pieces, you can hear the influence of some of the composers he most admired, Debussy, Ravel, de Falla and Respighi.

Album Overview

After intensive research, Pietro Massa discovered a copy of the lost score of the Piano Concerto in F major No. 2 op. 92 by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco at the Fleisher Collection in Philadelphia. The first European Performance of this work took place in the Berliner Philharmonie in September 2009 with Pietro Massa performing. Capriccio Vienna recorded and released this performance in September 2010 as a world premiere recording. The present recording was made on November 11th, 2010 from a live recording at the Konzertkirche Neubrandenburg.

Source: HBDirect.com

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco	Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, composer A composer and pianist, Castelnuovo-Tedesco was born in Florence into an Italian Jewish family. In 1939 he moved to the United States, where, in common with other European composers in exile, he turned his hand to film music, providing scores for some 250 films. He died in Los Angeles in 1968. www.naxos.com
Pietro Massa, piano	Pietro Massa, piano Pietro Massa (Italy) is born in Milan on March 6th 1973. He studied Piano Performance in Paris with Aldo Ciccolini and Composition in his native town with Bruno Bettinelli.  In 1999 he moved to Berlin. The capital of Germany became centre of his life and his base of an international career in which he has since given some 200 solo recitals and concerts with orchestras in various parts of the world… www.genuin.de/en/03_k.php?k=179
Stefan Malzew, conductor	Stefan Malzew, conductor The Chief Director of the Neubrandenburger Philharmoniker since 2001, Stefan Malzew was formerly the Chief Director at the Giessener Theater and before that the Music Director of the Mecklenburgischen Staatstheater in Schwerin. He served as assistant to Sir George Solti and Sir Yehudi Menuhin at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival. www.victoria-artists.com
Neubrandenburger Philharmonie	Neubrandenburger Philharmonie The Neubrandenburg Philharmonic has evolved in its 60-year history at a premium sound that can be heard and can see beyond the national borders. The orchestra represents the creative and innovative at the same time cultural powers of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and is also firmly rooted in its musical tradition with its diverse concert and theater offerings. www.theater-und-orchester.de

Thinking about purchasing this album? Follow this link for more album details or to make the purchase. Buy it now

“Not just recommended. Guaranteed.”
We stand behind every album featured on Expedition Audio. Our objective is to take the monetary risk out of music exploration. If you order this album from HBDirect.com and do not like it you can return it for a refund.