Critic’s Choice
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco scored hundreds of Hollywood movies after coming to the United States to escape Italian Fascism in the 1930s. Along with an indelible mark on the film industry, he left a body of serious classical works, including a long-forgotten Cello Concerto.
This weekend, the Houston Symphony, principal cellist Brenton Averil Smith, and guest conductor Kazuki Yamada will present the Texas premiere of that concerto, a work rarely heard since its debut with Gregor Piatigorsky under Toscanini in 1935. The program will also include Chabrier’s España and a complete performance of Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat, with mezzo-soprano Sofia Selowsky. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at Jones Hall. houstonsymphony.org; 713-224-7575