Houston Symphony Archives

CelloChat: Brinton Averil Smith – Interpretive Principles Learned from Recordings of the Masters of the Golden Age of String Playing

Critics have described American cellist Brinton Averil Smith as a “virtuoso cellist with few equals,” hailing him “a proponent of old-school string playing such as that of Piatigorsky and Heifetz.” Smith’s debut recording of Miklós Rózsa’s Cello Concerto with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra received widespread international critical acclaim, with Gramophone praising Smith as a “hugely eloquent, impassioned soloist,” and continuing “The sheer bravura of Smith’s reading is infectious” while the American Record Guide praised his recording of chamber music of Fauré with Gil Shaham as “Stunningly beautiful,” continuing “I cannot imagine a better stylistic match for Shaham.”

By CelloBello Webmaster|2022-01-20T07:23:47-05:00January 12th, 2022|Categories: Virtual Events, CelloChats|Tags: Brinton Averil Smith, Rice University, brinton smith, Houston Symphony|

The Origins of Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major (Part 2 of 2)

My research into this topic was inspired by upcoming concerts this weekend with the Houston Symphony. The Saturday January 30th performance is viewable on livestream at 8pm Central time. I am heavily indebted to Thomas Tolley and Dr. George Kenneway, whose groundbreaking research I only survey in this article. Their papers should be read in their entirety for the rich level of background and detail they provide. Unlike most of Haydn’s symphonic commissions, the cello concerto would stay unpublished for two decades. The market for cello concerti was more limited than for piano and violin concerti and was focused on works playable by advanced amateur musicians. Although there was a general increase in the difficulty of published cello writing in the late 18th century, only the concerti of Boccherini rivaled [...]

By Brinton Smith|2024-07-08T12:42:30-04:00January 27th, 2021|Categories: Historical, Repertoire|Tags: Anton Kraft, James Cervetto, Franz Joseph Haydn, Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Origin of Haydn's Cello Concerto, Houston Symphony, brinton smith|

The Origins of Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major (Part 1 of 2)

My research into this topic was inspired by upcoming concerts this weekend with the Houston Symphony. The Saturday January 30th performance is viewable on livestream at 8pm Central time. I am heavily indebted to Thomas Tolley and Dr. George Kenneway, whose groundbreaking research I only survey in this article. Their papers should be read in their entirety for the rich level of background and detail they provide. Haydn’s 1783 D major cello concerto (Hob VIIb:2) suffered a checkered reception for much of its early history, with aspersions cast both upon its authenticity and its compositional quality. Even when it finally gained popularity among cellists in the late 19th century, it did so in performing editions that significantly altered both its style and substance. The reception of the concerto was further [...]