08/29/2026
Out today on Delos Music: a true labor of love and what I believe to be an important and historic recording—the world-premiere recording of Arthur Foote’s long-lost 1894 Cello Concerto, performed by Julian Schwarz and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under my direction.
The album also includes all of Foote’s other works for cello, featuring pianist Marika Bournaki.
The only member of the “Boston Six” of the Second New England School to receive his entire musical education in the United States, Arthur Foote is widely regarded as America’s first homegrown classical composer. His music is distinguished by its refined melodic writing and lush harmonic language.
This recording represents the culmination of our efforts to bring Foote’s concerto back to life. Julian first discovered a listing for the work in an encyclopedia of American music but was unable to locate either a score or a recording. With the help of librarians at the Seattle Symphony, we eventually located the only known set of 19th-century handwritten materials—including the orchestral score, parts, and solo part—in the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Edwin A. Fleisher Collection of Orchestral Music. Working from these materials, we reconstructed a usable score from scratch.
My dear friend JoAnn Falletta, a champion of the project, subsequently arranged for Julian and me to perform and record the work with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. We have since created a new published edition of the solo and orchestral parts through JSGS Publishing, edited by Julian, making the concerto available to future generations of cellists and orchestras.
Earlier this year, Julian and the Boston Chamber Symphony gave the work its Boston premiere.
I’m immensely proud to see this remarkable music restored to the repertoire and finally available for audiences to discover.
