Description:

Castelnuovo-Tedesco is a Jewish composer of Italian descent. He was once known as a composer of "guitar music," but recently his wide range of works, including piano pieces and film music, have been performed, attracting attention to his versatility. He was inspired to write guitar music by Segovia, but he also met the famous cellist Piatigorsky, who also wrote a wonderful work for cello. The charismatic cellist requested the composer to write a cello concerto, which he completed in 1935, and the cello concerto is included in this album. It is a fantastic work that combines technique and musicality, but since its premiere by Toscanini and Piatigorsky in the year of its completion, it has been long forgotten, and this performance by Kazuki Yamada and Smith may well trigger a reappraisal of the work. The other smaller pieces are also valuable performances, including world premiere recordings.