Mieczysław Weinberg - Chamber Music (Gidon Kremer; Yulianna Avdeeva)

Information

Composer: Mieczysław Weinberg

• 3 Pieces for Violin and Piano
• Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello in A minor, Op. 24
• Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 6, Op. 136bis

Gidon Kremer, violin

Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė, cello

Yulianna Avdeeva, piano

Date: 2019

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

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Review

DG follows its release of Weinberg symphonies (6/19) with one of chamber music featuring members of Kremerata Baltica. Works for violin and piano frame almost the entirety of this composer’s output: the Three Pieces (1934) find the teenager working through the influence of Szymanowski in the high-flown eloquence of its Nocturne then of Bartók in its tensile Scherzo, before he arrives at a far more personal idiom in ‘Dream about a Doll’ with its striking interplay of ominousness and whimsy. Forward almost five decades and the Sixth Violin Sonata (1982) yields an emotional impact that belies its compression – the first movement recalling Ustvolskaya in its stark opposition of irreconcilable forces mediated in the brief Adagio, before the finale brings their fraught confrontation and fateful dispersal.

Placed between them, the Piano Trio (1945) is among the finest works of Weinberg’s early maturity. Less substantial while no less involving than the Piano Quintet which preceded it, this unfolds from the purposeful contrasts of a Prelude and Aria, via a propulsive Toccata and alluringly reticent Aria, to a finale that bracingly combines elements of fantasy and fugue through to a visceral climax and lengthy postlude which recalls earlier themes from an affecting remove. The outcome is a triumph of formal integration and expressive power.

It is a measure of Weinberg’s current profile that six recordings of this piece have appeared over the past year, with Gidon Kremer and his colleagues preferable to the incisive if overly self-contained version on Hänssler. (Reissue of an electrifying 1995 Russian account, once on Olympia, would be welcome.) Elsewhere, Kremer and Yulianna Avdeeva equal Linus Roth and José Gallardo for impetus though exceed them for insight. Highly immediate sound and decent notes round out a valuable addition to Weinberg’s discography in his centenary year.

— Richard Whitehouse

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Mieczysław Weinberg (8 December 1919 – 26 February 1996) was a Polish-born Soviet and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to a family connected with Yiddish theatre, he fled Poland in 1939 following the German invasion and settled in the Soviet Union, where he gained the support of Dmitri Shostakovich. Weinberg became a prolific and respected composer, particularly during the 1960s, when his concert and film music achieved considerable recognition. His later years were marked by declining health and reduced official support. International appreciation of his music grew significantly in the 1990s.

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Gidon Kremer (born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian violinist. Studied under David Oistrakh at the Moscow Conservatory, he won major international awards, including prizes at the Queen Elisabeth and the Tchaikovsky Competitions. Renowned for his artistic originality, Kremer has performed worldwide and championed contemporary composers such as Alfred Schnittke and Arvo Pärt. An exceptionally prolific recording artist, he has recorded over 120 albums and received numerous honors. In 1997, he founded the Kremerata Baltica, further strengthening his influence as performer, mentor and advocate for modern music.

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Yulianna Avdeeva (born 3 July 1985) is a Russian pianist. Born in Moscow, she studied at the Gnessin Special School of Music, the Zurich University of the Arts and the International Piano Academy Lake Como. She gained worldwide acclaim after winning First Prize at the 2010 International Chopin Piano Competition, becoming its fourth female winner. Avdeeva regularly performs with leading orchestras and at prestigious concert halls and festivals worldwide. Her acclaimed recordings include works by Chopin and Shostakovich, while her educational online projects have broadened access to classical music.

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