Mieczysław Weinberg - Symphony No. 7; Sinfoniettas (Rudolf Barshai; Evgeny Svetlanov)

Information

Composer: Mieczysław Weinberg

• Sinfonietta No. 1, Op. 41
• Sinfonietta No. 2, Op. 74
• Symphony No. 7 for strings and harpsichord, Op. 81

USSR State Symphony Orchestra

Evgeny Svetlanov, conductor

Moscow Chamber Orchestra

Rudolf Barshai, conductor

Date: 1966; 1962; 1967 / 2013

Label: Melodiya

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Description

Firma Melodiya presents an album of chamber and symphonic music by Moisey (Mieczysław) Weinberg, a remarkable composer and one of the best representatives of the 'Shostakovich school'. Regretfully, for the general public, he stayed in the shadow of his great teacher (although he formally wasn't his pupil; this is rather a matter of spiritual affinity, a common stylistic and ethical orientation felt by both composers). Weinberg is mostly known as an author of music to such outstanding Soviet motion pictures as The Cranes Are Flying, Don Quixote and The Last Inch. Meanwhile, he penned more than twenty larger and six chamber symphonic opuses, which revealed his distinctive individuality in a most complete way. Weinberg, who matured as a composer on the junction of three national cultures (Polish, Jewish and Russian), reflected achievements of the brightest music figures of the 20th century – Mahler, Hindemith, Bartók, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, in his own fashion. Throughout his creative development (Sinfonietta No. 1 was composed in 1948, Sinfonietta No. 2 and Symphony No. 7 – in the 1960s), the aesthetics of neoclassicism was close to him, which, however, was allied with high affectivity, deep emotional experience and keen perception of dramatic conflicts in the vein of Shostakovich. Weinberg's compositions are performed by the USSR State Orchestra led by Evgeny Svetlanov and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra lead by Rudolf Barshai, who founded the first Soviet chamber orchestra and inspired many contemporary composers of the time to create chamber music.

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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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Rudolf Barshai (28 September 1924 – 2 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian violist and conductor. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory, performed with renowned musicians, and was a founding member of the Borodin Quartet. In 1955, he founded the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, leading it until his emigration in 1977. He subsequently conducted major orchestras internationally. Barshai was particularly recognized for interpreting and arranging works by Shostakovich and Prokofiev, including acclaimed arrangements of Shostakovich's string quartets and recordings that received international critical recognition.

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Evgeny Svetlanov (6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, composer and pianist. Born in Moscow, he studied conducting with Alexander Gauk at the Moscow Conservatory. From 1965 to 2000 he was principal conductor of the USSR State Symphony Orchestra (now the Russian State Symphony Orchestra). Svetlanov was also music director of the Residentie Orchestra (The Hague) from 1992 to 2000 and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1997 to 1999. He was particularly noted for his interpretations of Russian works, from Mikhail Glinka to the present day.

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