Although written during the 20th century, the two major works on this CD, Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Violin Concerto No. 2 “I Profeti” and Respighi’s Concerto Gregoriano, hark back to a world of the past. The disc also includes an arrangement by violin soloist José Miguel Cueto of the song La Rosa y el Sauce by the Argentinean composer Carlos Guastavino. Cueto is accompanied by the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Lande.
Virtuoso violinist José Miguel Cueto was born in Puerto Rico where he received early piano and violin training. He studied violin at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico and Peabody Conservatory. He is admired by public and critics for his solid technique and beautiful tone.
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Violin Concerto was written in 1931. It was commissioned by Jascha Heifetz who premiered it with Arturo Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Castelnuovo-Tedesco referred to the piece as is a kind of biblical concerto, an evocation of times in the glorious past. Respighi’s Concerto Gregoriano also conveys through the use of chant and open harmonies a former time full of peace and spirituality. The musical style of the Argentinean Carlos Guastavino’s song La Rosa y el Sauce [The Rose and the Willow Tree], arranged here for violin and orchestra by the featured soloist José Miguel Cueto, is based around the composer’s native folk music.
