# Mieczyslaw Weinberg



## Mirror Image

Mieczysław Weinberg was one of the twentieth century's most powerful and prolific composers, and one of its least well known, certainly outside of his adoptive Russia. His death in Moscow on 26 February, 1996, at the age of 76, brings to an end to a life that was far from easy but which was borne with the fortitude that gives his music its toughness and strength.

Weinberg was born on 8 December 1919 in Warsaw into a musical family: his father was a composer and violinist in a Jewish theatre there. He made his first public appearance as a pianist at the age of ten, and two years later became a student at the Warsaw Academy of Music, then under the direction of Karol Szymanowski, where he took piano lessons from Josef Turczynski. His graduation in 1939 was soon followed by Hitler's invasion: when his entire family was killed, burned alive, Moisei fled eastwards, taking shelter first in Minsk, where he studied composition with Vassily Zolotaryov. Two years later, as Hitler now pushed into Russia, Weinberg again had to flee, this time finding work at the opera house in Tashkent, in Uzbekistan. It was there, in 1943, that he took the action that was perhaps to be the most decisive in his life: he sent the manuscript of his newly completed First Symphony to Dmitri Shostakovich in Moscow. Shostakovich's response was typically helpful and immediate: Weinberg received an official invitation to travel to Moscow, where he was to spend the rest of his life, living largely by his compositions, though he also made many appearances as a pianist. One of the most prestigious was when, in October 1967, with Vishnevskaya, Oistrakh and Rostropovich, he played in the first performance of Shostakovich's Seven Romances on Poems by Alexander Blok, replacing the ailing composer. And when Shostakovich presented his latest works to the Composers' Union and to the Soviet Ministry of Culture, it was generally in four-hand versions in which Weinberg was his habitual accompanist (in 1954, for example, they recorded the Tenth Symphony at the piano - a document of immense importance which has appeared in the West on LP and which ought now to be resuscitated on CD).

Having only just escaped the Nazis with his life, Weinberg was not to find matters much easier under Stalin. During the night of 12 January 1948 (the day before the opening of the infamous "Zhdanov" congress at which Shostakovich, Serge Prokofieff and several other composers were denounced as "formalists"), Solomon Mikhoels, Weinberg's father-in-law and the perhaps the foremost actor in the Soviet Union, was murdered on Stalin's orders, an early victim of the anti-Semitic campaign that was to be a feature of his last years in power. When, in February 1953, Weinberg himself was arrested, it seemed that he, too, might "disappear"; fortune intervened and Stalin's death on 5 March removed the imminent danger. (In the meantime Shostakovich had acted true to form, taking the step, one of almost foolhardy generosity and courage, of writing to Stalin's police chief Beriya to protest Weinberg's innocence.) A month later Mikhoels was posthumously rehabilitated in the Soviet press, and soon after Weinberg himself was released.

Weinberg's association with Shostakovich was not based only on mutual personal esteem. Shostakovich often spoke very highly of Weinberg's music (calling him "one of the most outstanding composers of the present day"); he dedicated his Tenth String Quartet to him; and in February/March 1975, although terminally ill (he was to die on 9 August), he found the energy to attend all the rehearsals for the premiere of Weinberg's opera The Madonna and the Soldier. Weinberg's identification with Shostakovich's musical language was such that to the innocent ear the best of his own music might also pass muster as very good Shostakovich. Weinberg was quite unabashed, stating with unsettling directness that "I am a pupil of Shostakovich. Although I have never had lessons from him, I count myself as his pupil, as his flesh and blood". But there is much more to Weinberg than these external similarities of style, although his music - some of which achieves greatness - has yet to have the exposure that will allow his individuality to be fully recognised. It also embraces folk idioms from his native Poland, as well as Jewish and Moldavian elements; and towards the end of his career he found room for dodecaphony, though usually set in a tonal framework. His evident taste for humour, from the light and deft to biting satire, was complemented by a natural feeling for the epic: his Twelfth Symphony, for instance, dedicated to the memory of Shostakovich, effortlessly sustains a structure almost an hour in length; and Symphonies Nos. 17, 18 and 19 form a vast trilogy entitled On the Threshold of War.

The list of Weinberg's compositions is enormous and deserves serious investigation both by musicians and record companies: there are no fewer than 26 symphonies (the last to be completed, Kaddish, is dedicated to the memory of the Jews who perished in the Warsaw Ghetto, Weinberg donating the manuscript to the Yad va-Shem memorial in Israel; the twenty-seventh was finished in piano score though not fully orchestrated); two sinfoniettas; seven concertos (variously for violin, cello, flute and trumpet); seventeen string quartets; nineteen sonatas for piano solo or in combination with violin, viola, cello, double-bass or clarinet; more than 150 songs; a Requiem; and an astonishing amount of music for the stage - seven operas, three operettas, two ballets, and incidental music for 65 films, plays, radio productions and circus performances.

Weinberg was never a Party member, although he turned in his fair share of celebratory "socialist realist" commissions. But the horrors he had lived through underlined his genuine antipathy to war, which was far from the empty harrumphing of the Soviet peace movement - it can be heard in (for example) how he treats the theme of death in his passionately humanist Sixth Symphony, to be found on one of four discs of Weinberg's music released by the British company Olympia towards the end of the composer's life (more releases are planned, apparently).

He spent his last days confined to bed by ill health, often in considerable pain and afflicted by a deep depression occasioned by the wholesale neglect of his music - an unworthy end to a career the importance of which has yet to be recognised. The news that a trust has been formed to promote his music may be the first sign that a revival of interest is at hand. Not before time.

[Article taken from Classical.net]

I have just discovered this composer, but I haven't heard a note of his music. He sounds like he's right my alley. Anyway, have any of you heard Weinberg's music?


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## Sid James

Reputedly Weinberg was a great (but neglected) composer of the C20th, as the article suggests. I'm interested in getting his _Violin Concerto _on Naxos, which is coupled with Myaskovsky's. I'll be ordering that at some stage, particularly since I'm in a C20th piano/violin concerto phase at the moment...


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## Claude Torres

Hi,

You will find an extensive discography of Weinberg (or Vainberg) on my page dedicated to this composer
*http://claude.torres1.perso.sfr.fr/Vainberg/index.html*

The label Naxos has recently released a CD (for now only available for mp3 download or streaming)
see http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.570333

Claude Torres


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## DirkVA

For more information (including access to scores), here is a link to his publishers:

http://www.peermusicclassical.com/composer/composerdetail.cfm?detail=weinberg


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## Head_case

As much as Shostakovich and Vainberg (Weinberg)'s peers esteemed him, all I can say is that after listening to about 10 of his string quartets and his piano quintet, nothing really sticks. 

I really want to like him; he seems to be championed by the Borodin String Quartet from of old; the Quatuor Danel of recent vintage as well as the rather phenomenal Dominant Quartet from St Petersburg. Despite all these high profile players, his string quartet music just seems so .... unmemorable? 


I bet you guys haven't even bothered with his string quartets, not because he's ignored, but because they really aren't that worthwhile bothering with. 

Seems terrible think this. I'd rather have Shebalin's cycle of 9 string quartets over Vainberg's 17+. Even Kabalevsky & Grechaninov's string quartets have more memorable material. Roll on Schnittke, Firsova, Denissov, Gubaidulina or any other Soviet era string quartet composer.


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## Tarantella

I don't know well Weinberg's music, and regarding his chamber music I have only listened to his Piano Quintet and his String Quartet No. 8, but I really like both works. I find the Quintet lovely.






By the way, Liverpool's Royal Philharmonic premiered his Requiem, in the vein of Britten's War Requiem, some months ago. Impressive work IMHO.


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## TresPicos

I've seen Weinberg being called a "carbon copy" of Shostakovich. I agree. He's _that_ good.

I first heard his name quite recently, when someone on the radio mentioned the "three great Soviet composers": Shostakovich, Prokofiev and... Weinberg. "Who?" was my first reaction. Then I listened to his piano quintet, and I felt like a Debussy lover hearing Ravel for the first time. And I've been listening to Weinberg ever since.


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## KenOC

Mirror Image said:


> And when Shostakovich presented his latest works to the Composers' Union and to the Soviet Ministry of Culture, it was generally in four-hand versions in which Weinberg was his habitual accompanist (in 1954, for example, they recorded the Tenth Symphony at the piano - a document of immense importance which has appeared in the West on LP and which ought now to be resuscitated on CD).


This performance was in fact issued on CD (I have it). If you want to go looking for it, bear in mind that Weinberg was generally spelled "Vainberg" in those days, in the West. It's a very interesting performance.

I have quite a bit of Weinberg but, as was said by somebody else, little of it "sticks." Another person called Weinberg "Shostakovich without the genius," which seems to fit.


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## Neo Romanza

Yeah, I don't find Weinberg's music all that memorable either. The same applies to Tubin. I like his music alot but I can't remember one note of it!


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## TresPicos

Well, you can be greatful that Weinberg is _almost _like Shostakovich, or you can be disappointed that he is not _exactly _like Shostakovich. I'm happy to have found another composer writing in the same "language" as Shostakovich.


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## Kleinzeit

Neo Romanza said:


> Yeah, I don't find Weinberg's music all that memorable either. The same applies to Tubin. I like his music alot but I can't remember one note of it!











................aww............


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## Neo Romanza

TresPicos said:


> Well, you can be greatful that Weinberg is _almost _like Shostakovich, or you can be disappointed that he is not _exactly _like Shostakovich. I'm happy to have found another composer writing in the same "language" as Shostakovich.


But I really don't want to hear another composer write like Shostakovich. If I want to listen to Shostakovich's music then I'll listen to it. When I listen to Weinberg, I don't hear a distinctive enough voice to be considered a great composer. What I hear is a composer working within a musical language that has already been established by Shostakovich.


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## EllenBurgess

what do you really mean here, i am not getting any solution of it and unable to stand you at any cost...


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## Neo Romanza

EllenBurgess said:


> what do you really mean here, i am not getting any solution of it and unable to stand you at any cost...


What I mean is why would I listen to Weinberg when I can just listen to Shostakovich and hear an original compositional voice. In other words, Weinberg isn't a unique composer. Now, what part of any of this do you not understand?


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## TresPicos

Neo Romanza said:


> What I mean is why would I listen to Weinberg when I can just listen to Shostakovich and hear an original compositional voice.


To discover new, great music, of course! But if you don't want to listen to Weinberg, then don't. Simple as that.

For other "If I enjoy A, and B is like A, then I'll probably enjoy B too"-minded Shostakovich fans out there, there is lots and lots of Weinberg music to peruse on Spotify.

I just realized who you are.


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## Neo Romanza

TresPicos said:


> To discover new, great music, of course! But if you don't want to listen to Weinberg, then don't. Simple as that.
> 
> For other "If I enjoy A, and B is like A, then I'll probably enjoy B too"-minded Shostakovich fans out there, there is lots and lots of Weinberg music to peruse on Spotify.
> 
> I just realized who you are.


I certainly won't deny that there are some Weinberg works that I enjoy (his _Symphony No. 6_, _Cello Concerto_ for example), but, ultimately his music doesn't hit me quite like Shostakovich's music does. It's all a matter of personal preference as with anything.

By the way, it's easy to see who I am. I'm Schoenberg right now.


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## LindnerianSea

Chandos started a stereo cycle of Weinberg's symphonies... I find it difficult to wait for them to be released as a complete set ! Btw, I have heard from various sources that Weinberg is the 'romantic' DSCH. Any elaborations, please ?


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## Benny

A peak:


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## Benny

I've only recenly been exposed to Weinberg's name and Music. At first, I didn't like it at all. I like soft-modern music, and his was rough-modern. Then I discovered the 2nd mvt of Flute Concerto no. 1 (which I posted above), and thought it's the peak of his music. I also liked his Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes (



 ). Since then I discovered 2 more pieces I liked very much:









These 4 convinced me: (1) He's a great comopser; (2) His best period was between op. 40 to op. 75.
Actually, I listen to him very often these days. Warmly recommended.
B.


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## EdwardBast

Don't know how I could have failed to explore Wienberg's music before. Just listened to his Piano Sonata No. 6, which is what convinced me I need to do more listening. Grasped enough of it to know it is tightly and subtly constructed:


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## Benny

Not bad, Edward, but still far from the heights of the Cello Concerto.


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## EdwardBast

Benny said:


> Not bad, Edward, but still far from the heights of the Cello Concerto.


Thanks Benny! That concerto is profoundly good. I can only assume that those above who hear a mere shadow of Shostakovich or find nothing memorable in Weinberg's music are listening to very different works than we. There are at least five melodies from this one that will be haunting me, etching labyrinths into my brain tonight while I sleep. Very different voice than Shostakovich. His lyricism fuses some of the best qualities of Shostakovich and Miaskovsky, but without the acerbic edge and obsessive rhythmic tics of the former or the canonic clutter and tendency to overuse sequences of the latter. And when he opens a 'magic door' harmonically, it never sounds unmotivated or like a disarticulated hinge as it sometimes does in Miaskovsky, but rather is always, at least in this concerto, integral to a melodic design. But, of course, it is possible that I just got lucky in what I heard first, thanks, once again, to you.


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## WienerKonzerthaus

Everyone talking "Die Passagierin", which is great... but let's not neglect his last opera... which I find even more cogent and moving:




Mieczysław Weinberg's Idiot
Awe-inspiring Masterpiece Unearthed in Mannheim


[url]http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2013/07/mieczysaw-weinbergs-idiot-awe-inspiring.html

[/url]


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## Guest

Talk to me about Mieczyslaw Weinberg, folks. I'm very confused, to be honest. From some corners, I get the impression that he was pretty much Shostakovich 2.0 (nothing wrong with that, but, you know, I have lots of Shostakovich), and yet, I see he has a decent set of discs on NEOS, which typically champions more radical music than Shostakovich. Is he that similar to Shostakovich or does he keep it new and exciting?


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## Birdsong88

I have just listened to Weinberg's Cello concerto and I give it two thumbs up. Now I am listening to Symphony No. 12 "In Memorium Dmitri Shostakovich" , and I would say I definitely need to checkout more of his works. Any recommendations?


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## TheGazzardian

Just discovered this guy because of the recent Deutchse Grammaphone release of his 2nd and 21st symphony and found both symphonies enjoyable (and neither made me think of Shostakovich), are his symphonies generally worth exploring or are these diamonds in the rough?


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## starthrower

Any recommendations for recordings of the cello concerto? There are CDs on Chandos, CPO, and Channel Classics. I'm currently listening to an ECM 2 disc set I found at a used bookstore. It features Gidon Kremer performing chamber and orchestral works.


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## Subutai

I've heard a few of his symphonies on Naxos and they sound good. Not Shostakovich but interesting nonetheless. Which brings me onto Grazinyte-Tyla's much lauded recording on DG. I just found them terribly depressing. I mean the guy wrote over 20 symphonies and she goes for those 2? But it's been lauded to the heavens so what do I know except I wouldn't buy any more off the back of her rendition.


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## SanAntone

Subutai said:


> I've heard a few of his symphonies on Naxos and they sound good. Not Shostakovich but interesting nonetheless. Which brings me onto Grazinyte-Tyla's much lauded recording on DG. I just found them terribly depressing. I mean the guy wrote over 20 symphonies and she goes for those 2? But it's been lauded to the heavens so what do I know except I wouldn't buy any more off the back of her rendition.


I disagree. First, Weinberg is not Shostakovich, this is true. But as Weinberg he is Shostakovich's equal, IMO, and is better in several works. I also disagree with your opinion of the *Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla* recording, which I consider excellent in all regards, including programming an early work with a later work.


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## Subutai

SanAntone said:


> I also disagree with your opinion of the *Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla* recording, which I consider excellent in all regards, including programming an early work with a later work.


Each to their own but she chose the 2 most depressing works front and centre. If this was his only album I'd heard then, no thank you Mr Weinberg. Thank goodness for Naxos as I think he is an interesting symphonist and hopefully someone will one day do him justice by recording a complete cycle (you listening CPO?). Just not Ms Grazinyte-Tyla.


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## Rogerx

Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)
USSR State Symphony Orchestra
Gennady Rozhdestvensky
The best you can have.


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## Bulldog

Subutai said:


> Each to their own but she chose the 2 most depressing works front and centre. If this was his only album I'd heard then, no thank you Mr Weinberg. Thank goodness for Naxos as I think he is an interesting symphonist and hopefully someone will one day do him justice by recording a complete cycle (you listening CPO?). Just not Ms Grazinyte-Tyla.


They are relatively bleak symphonies, and I find them exhilarating. Depression is found in the listener, not the music.


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## maestro267

Subutai said:


> Each to their own but she chose the 2 most depressing works front and centre. If this was his only album I'd heard then, no thank you Mr Weinberg. Thank goodness for Naxos as I think he is an interesting symphonist and hopefully someone will one day do him justice by recording a complete cycle (you listening CPO?). Just not Ms Grazinyte-Tyla.


There is beauty in sadness. Without sadness we will not have happiness as there is nothing to compare it to. It says more about you than the works themselves that you blindly toss them aside like that.


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## starthrower

Bulldog said:


> They are relatively bleak symphonies, and I find them exhilarating. Depression is found in the listener, not the music.


Does anybody truly fall into depression listening to music? I doubt it. A feeling of melancholia or the blues can overtake the listener but not depression. I have one 2 disc set of Weinberg's music on ECM. It's a mixed bag with some pieces I find interesting and appealing to a modern listener and others that strike me as rather odd and anachronistic. YMMV?


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## Red Terror

Due to their developing brains and warring hormones, I think only teenagers (and the mentally ill) are truly capable of finding music depressing.

Music can alter my mood at times but it lacks the capacity to induce extreme states of mind.

On a different subject, I truly love Weinberg's music and much prefer it to Shostakovich's.


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## NoCoPilot

*Mieczysław Weinberg*

Many years ago－1971 to be precise－I ran across a Melodiya LP of trumpet concertos by contemporary Soviet composers.







I fell in love with the one by Moisei Vainberg, written in 1966-7. Over the years I cherished this LP, converted it to CD-R when I got out of LPs, and always kept my eye out for other music by Vainberg... but never found any.

Then this week, I accidentally stumbled onto *Mieczysław Weinberg* (while researching Ukrainian composers) and was ASTOUNDED to read that he is also known as Moisei Vainberg! Other spellings abound: Moisey Vainberg, Moishe Weinberg, Moisey Samuilovich Vaynberg, Mieczysław Weinberg, Mojsze Wajnberg (due to the vagueness of Cyrillic transliteration).

Anyway, he wrote 26 symphonies during his lifetime (1919-1996) and many concertos and sonatas. Naxos has recently (2006-2017) released a whole spate of his music, much of it "world premiere recordings." And every one I've heard has been just as wonderful as that trumpet concerto!

Vainberg/Weinberg was born in Poland, escaped Warsaw ahead of the Nazis in 1939, landed in Minsk, and then was invited to Moscow (and promoted) by Shostakovich. He wrote prolifically until his death at the ripe old age of 76.

Anyway, here are a few of my new favorites:


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## Rogerx

Mieczyslaw Weinberg

Much more Weinberg.:tiphat:


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## NoCoPilot

Aww, thanks. Somebody tell the mods the search function doesn't work.


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## dko22

Yes, there have been other threads on Weinberg or mentions dotted around. But I have nothing against another plug as I regard him as THE most underrated of all composers and there certainly are a few. Early works certainly are strongly influenced by Shostakovich and (in orchestral works particularly) Prokoviev. But there are works already in the 60's which bear no resemblance to either and after the death of his friend Shostakovich, the music could by and large have been written by no-one else. 

And two of your recommended works I would particularly endorse -- symphonies 6 and 17. The 6th was clearly the most popular in the Soviet Union and recorded several times. The middle movement of 17 is one of the most chilling ever penned and a few others have picked up on this one. My absolute favourite is probably another in the War trilogy, no. 19. Of course Mirga's recording of 21 has helped to gain new fans for the composer and deservedly so although I don't think her recording displaces Vasilyev's world premiere on Toccata. 

He's written in virtually every form like Shosty except even more so. However, he tends to lack the bite and sarcasm of the older man in his lighter music which can be a bit routine when only trundled out to please Stalin. But with 43 symphonies and string quartets alone, you're not wanting for choice and the amount of variety is extraordinary.


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## HenryPenfold

I don't think it's that he's underrated, as such - more that he hasn't been highlighted as much as his talent deserves. When attention is focused on his works, they are mostly praised to the roof.


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## Monsalvat

My favorite of his compositions (from my limited exposure to Weinberg) is the Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 18.




This particular performance from 1963 features the Borodin Quartet and Weinberg himself playing the piano part.


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## Art Rock

Merged the two threads.


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## NoCoPilot

Art Rock said:


> Merged the two threads.


Thanks Art. I can see how the early symphonies were influenced by Shostakovich and, yes, Prokofiev (thanks dko22) but there is much in his oeuvre which, to my ears anyway, sounds wholly original: the trumpet concerto, serenade for orchestra, the Golden Key ballet, the bassoon concerto, the double bass concerto, the Banners of Peace, the Rhapsody on Moldavian themes....

And just for the record, Shostakovich is not a bad role model.


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## Bulldog

Both Shostakovich and Weinberg are among my favorite composers. Yes, there are times when they sound quite similar, but often Weinberg has his own individual voice. His piano quintet, symphonies, concertos, and string quartets stand out for me.


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## SanAntone

Bulldog said:


> Both Shostakovich and Weinberg are among my favorite composers. Yes, there are times when they sound quite similar, but often Weinberg has his own individual voice. His piano quintet, symphonies, concertos, and string quartets stand out for me.


I agree. But I think I probably prefer Weinberg overall, while also enjoying Shostakovich very much. At times, though, I feel that Shostakovich uses the sequencing of a motive which builds to a climax which becomes predictable in an unpleasant way.


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## dko22

HenryPenfold said:


> I don't think it's that he's underrated, as such - more that he hasn't been highlighted as much as his talent deserves. When attention is focused on his works, they are mostly praised to the roof.


fair comment --perhaps under-appreciated would be a better term. Still, there are quite a few serious music critics who claim to have a fair knowledge of the composer but fail to see what all the fuss is about.


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## dko22

NoCoPilot said:


> Thanks Art. I can see how the early symphonies were influenced by Shostakovich and, yes, Prokofiev (thanks dko22) but there is much in his oeuvre which, to my ears anyway, sounds wholly original: the trumpet concerto, serenade for orchestra, the Golden Key ballet, the bassoon concerto, the double bass concerto, the Banners of Peace, the Rhapsody on Moldavian themes....
> 
> And just for the record, Shostakovich is not a bad role model.


It's possible I'm being obtuse but I don't really get the originality of The Golden Key, The Banners of Peace or the Rhapsody on Moldavian themes. These works and some others of their ilk seem to be more filler material for the Naxos symphony releases. The trumpet concerto is a quite different kettle of fish, though.

Just to be clear, I wouldn't want to suggest that the earlier chamber/symphonic works of Weinberg are merely Shosty/Prokofiev clones -- far from it -- but it's an easier starting point for the novice than the late works.

Incidentally any discussion about which are his greatest works should really start with _The Passenger_. Weinberg regarded this as his most important achievement as did Shostakovich from what I gather.


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## Neo Romanza

While I certainly agree that Shostakovich was an unmistakable influence on Weinberg's early music, he developed into a unique composer with his own individual voice as he matured.


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## Red Terror

starthrower said:


> Does anybody truly fall into depression listening to music? I doubt it. A feeling of melancholia or the blues can overtake the listener but not depression. I have one 2 disc set of Weinberg's music on ECM. It's a mixed bag with some pieces I find interesting and appealing to a modern listener and others that strike me as rather odd and anachronistic. YMMV?


Which works of his do you find dated?


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## starthrower

Red Terror said:


> Which works of his do you find dated?


I don't remember the names. I'll have to re-listen to the CDs.


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## NoCoPilot

dko22 said:


> I don't really get the originality of The Golden Key, The Banners of Peace or the Rhapsody on Moldavian themes. These works and some others of their ilk seem to be more filler material for the Naxos symphony releases.


I think "The Golden Key" (1955) shares more with Leonard Bernstein's "Fancy Free" (1943) than with anything Shostakovich.


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## Kreisler jr

What are people's favorite Weinberg symphonies or other orchestral works and esp. string quartets? 
A couple of days ago I re-listened to a disc (Threshold of hope) with clarinet sonata and piano quintet (I skipped the yiddish songs). I remember that I was rather disappointed when I got that disc years ago but liked the (klezmer influenced) sonata quite a bit. But the piano quintet is for me not even close to DSCH's quintet, a tier or two below and overall too long and not that exciting.


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## EdwardBast

Hey Fritz,
I don't know them all and I'm currently working my way through all I can find online. So far the standout for me has been the Fifth. Remarkable finale with wonderful wind and percussion writing. I enjoyed the 4th too — it's lighter and a trumpet orgy. 

Oh wait — the Third is wonderful in a completely different way than the above. Lyrical marvel.


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## NoCoPilot

The five I posted are my favorites so far: the 6th and 17th symphonies, Golden Key ballet (all four suites), bassoon concerto and of course the trumpet concerto.


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## John Zito

Kreisler jr said:


> What are people's favorite Weinberg symphonies or other orchestral works and esp. string quartets?
> A couple of days ago I re-listened to a disc (Threshold of hope) with clarinet sonata and piano quintet (I skipped the yiddish songs). I remember that I was rather disappointed when I got that disc years ago but liked the (klezmer influenced) sonata quite a bit. But the piano quintet is for me not even close to DSCH's quintet, a tier or two below and overall too long and not that exciting.


The only thing I've heard is the Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, but I think it's great:


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## NoCoPilot

John Zito said:


> The only thing I've heard is the Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra, but I think it's great:


Wow, that _is_ great. The interplay between the cello and the basses is wonderful. And Weinberg writes some really snakey melodies, not obvious but very memorable.


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## Ludwig Schon

Sym. 21, Kaddish, in particular, is incredible on this recording…


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## mikeh375

^^ I listened to that the other night on YT and really got into it. I then took on his 3rd symphony - same result. I've now bookmarked Weinberg for future listening.


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## Ludwig Schon

mikeh375 said:


> ^^ I listened to that the other night on YT and really got into it. I then took on his 3rd symphony - same result. I've now bookmarked Weinberg for future listening.


The Weinberg SQs are exceptional. Get the Silesian, to my ears they are far greater than the much heralded (in the English press, of course) Danel and Arcadia…


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