Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)

[The new erato]

I've been playing the two discs of solo cello music on Naxos repeatedly lately, and very fine music (and performances) it is.

[vandermolen]

Weinberg's Symphony No 1 has been a revelation to me - one of my favourite discs of this year along with Brian's 10th Symphony and Bate's Symphony No 4.

[The new erato]

Weinberg's Symphony No 1 has been a revelation to me - one of my favourite discs of this year along with Brian's 10th Symphony and Bate's Symphony No 4.

Yes, all discs I have bought but only listened superficially to. Thanks for reminding me.   

[Brahmsian]

I wish I had the guts to do things like that

This is more or less my scale:



It's about the 55 min mark that it becomes acceptable, anything around 70 and I can appreciate that the label made an effort. I can imagine a label owner seeing this and raging, but with a very limited income I have to get the best value I can and runtime is a consideration in my purchasing decisions.

I'm always a little disappointed if a disc is under 70 minutes.  Even at 69 minutes, they could put a 10 minute overture or something??    I always like it when I get a CD that is slightly over 80 minutes, I always feel like I'm getting a bonus! 

[The new erato]

Well try to be calm and maintain a larger picture. Recordings have never - ever - been as cheap as they are today, and with companies putting out fine recordings of very worthwhile repertoire never before recorded, recordings which they probably never will recoup their investments in - I think you all should be grateful to get them at all.

Reissues of standard repertoire having been through the reissue cycle several times already are quite another matter and should never be under 65-70 minutes at the very minimum.

[Scarpia]

Well try to be calm and maintain a larger picture. Recordings have never - ever - been as cheap as they are today, and with companies putting out fine recordings of very worthwhile repertoire never before recorded, recordings which they probably never will recoup their investments in - I think you all should be grateful to get them at all.

Reissues of standard repertoire having been through the reissue cycle several times already are quite another matter and should never be under 65-70 minutes at the very minimum.

Obviously length of program is not the most important factor, and I don't have the idea that they are obligated to fill the disc to the 80 minute capacity.  However, I am interested in symphonies and chamber symphonies, and consider Suite No 4 from a ballet I've never heard of to be of little interest.  So effectively it is a 30 minute disc, from my point of view. 

I'd just like to know what they're thinking in the Chandos A&R department.   

"How will we make the public go crazy for this disc by 'what's-his-name' the guy with two different names depend on which transliteration you use, "Vainberg," no that's what the other label calls him.   I've got it, let's spread out the music over lots and lots of discs, maybe just 30 minutes per disc, then we can find some random stuff to get it up above 45 minutes.  They'll go crazy for that, afterall, the entire world is just waiting for more Vainberg Weinberg recordings and there are so few other recordings they can spend their money on!"

In any case, I will get the disc when I find myself in a position that there is no other, more attractive disc available.  I doubt I'll live that long.

[Gurn Blanston]

@Scarpia: So mean, I'm sure the ballet is fine

In related news, I've been playing this (78 minute long ) disc for the second time today:

[asin]B00454EMDI[/asin]

The two numbered sonatas for violin and piano are both gorgeous - no real angst or darkness, just great music. The solo sonata is somewhat more wiry and I find it hard going on my initial listens but it exhibits such craft. It's impressive that despite being quite a prolific writer, Weinberg didn't spread his inspiration too thinly.

The performances are excellent btw, and recorded with great clarity.

And in fact I'm on the second go-round with it myself, and I very much agree with your comments. I don't know if this has been brought up earlier in this thread so at risk of repeating someone else's ideas I will say that as a devoted Bloch fan, this disk is right in my sweet spot stylistically. If I had got it without a cover, so to speak, and you said it was some new Bloch works on first release, I would have bought that for a dollar.



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Now playing:
Yuri Kalnits (Violin) / Michael Csanyi- Wills (Piano) - Weinberg Op 46 Sonatina for Violin & Piano 2nd mvmt - Lento - Allegro - Tempo Primo

[Brian]

And in fact I'm on the second go-round with it myself, and I very much agree with your comments. I don't know if this has been brought up earlier in this thread so at risk of repeating someone else's ideas I will say that as a devoted Bloch fan, this disk is right in my sweet spot stylistically. If I had got it without a cover, so to speak, and you said it was some new Bloch works on first release, I would have bought that for a dollar.

I haven't heard the violin sonatas (though now I want to), but I have noticed that Weinberg's solo instrumental music is more "wiry" (Sara's word) or more astringent than his not-solo music. The cello preludes and suites, for example, are pretty stern stuff, in the real Soviet Repressed vein, whereas the cello concerto is lyrical and effusive and kind of heartmending. I wonder if something about the solitary musical instrument made him think of loneliness - sort of an interesting philosophy, to write for a "lonely" performer in that double-meaning.

[Gurn Blanston]

I haven't heard the violin sonatas (though now I want to), but I have noticed that Weinberg's solo instrumental music is more "wiry" (Sara's word) or more astringent than his not-solo music. The cello preludes and suites, for example, are pretty stern stuff, in the real Soviet Repressed vein, whereas the cello concerto is lyrical and effusive and kind of heartmending. I wonder if something about the solitary musical instrument made him think of loneliness - sort of an interesting philosophy, to write for a "lonely" performer in that double-meaning.

Yeah, Bloch does that too. Look at his Suite for Cello & Orchestra ( 'Schelomo' ) and it is lushly lyrical. compare to any of his chamber works (not solo, I don't have any but very few players) like his string quartets for example and they are sharp as a knife. I haven't heard any of Weinberg's orchestral stuff yet for comparison (and probably won't, not my thing) but I suspect the same would hold true.   


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Now playing:
Yuri Kalnits (Violin) - Weinberg Op 82 Sonata #1 for Violin Solo 3rd mvmt - Allegretto

[vandermolen]

Weinberg's Piano Quintet is worthy to stand alongside that of his friend Shostakovich as well as the ones by Bloch (No 1) and Schnittke - all of which I have the highest opinion of.

[Gurn Blanston]

Weinberg's Piano Quintet is worthy to stand alongside that of his friend Shostakovich as well as the ones by Bloch (No 1) and Schnittke - all of which I have the highest opinion of.

Thanks, that's high praise. I'll check it out.



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Now playing:
Yuri Kalnits (Violin) - Weinberg Op 82 Sonata #1 for Violin Solo 5th mvmt - Presto

[Brian]

Weinberg's Piano Quintet is worthy to stand alongside that of his friend Shostakovich as well as the ones by Bloch (No 1) and Schnittke - all of which I have the highest opinion of.

Ooh! I want to second this. And the Weinberg PQ shows some pretty surprising non-classical influences, too.

Gurn, thanks for the comments on Bloch!

[eyeresist]

Ooh! I want to second this. And the Weinberg PQ shows some pretty surprising non-classical influences, too.

Is that code for Jazz?

[vandermolen]

I have just discovered Weinberg's endearing, approachable and eloquent Symphony No 3 (Chandos) - written in 1949-50 and revised in 1959. It was written in the aftermath of Zhdanov's denunciation of the leading soviet composers (including Weinberg himself). As in Miaskovsky's underrated 26th Symphony (I mustn't turn this into a Miaskovsky thread, or Maciek will get cross, excise the thread and exile me to Siberia  ) Weinberg responds to the demands of Socialist Realism without compromising his integrity.  The result is a very tuneful, melodic and partly folk-song inspired work of considerable eloquence.  I have played it repeatedly and find it very moving.  The CD is not great value at under 50 minutes - but there are good notes and nice to see Weinberg smiling for once in a charming photo of him playing with a dog at a composer's retreat.  I can understand why Shostakovich thought so highly of Weinberg.

[asin]B004SVNIGK[/asin]

[Brian]

Is that code for Jazz?

Sorry for the belated answer: yes.

[The new erato]

Seems there is to be a Weinberg edition on NEOS:



2 volumes recently issued (check mdt sept prereleases)

All of the works, including symphonies, solo concertos, chamber music and his Requiem were performed at the Bregenz Festival in 2010 and recorded, so are available for this edition.

[PaulR]

Seems there is to be a Weinberg edition on NEOS:



2 volumes recently issued (check mdt sept prereleases)

All of the works, including symphonies, solo concertos, chamber music and his Requiem were performed at the Bregenz Festival in 2010 and recorded, so are available for this edition.

a 3rd was recently released with the 17th symphony was recently.

Also, another volume of the Quatoar Danel cycle of the String Quartets is going to be released soon. 

I know what my next purchase is going to be....)

(Also looking forward to getting the opera The Passenger)

[Dundonnell]

So it looks as though Fedoseyev is re-recording the symphonies, many of which were released by Olympia-before its sad demise-in versions with the USSR Radio Symphony Orchestra. These new versions are with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra it seems.

The difficulty may be with those which were not recorded or at least released in the West. Symphony No. 13 is purely orchestral as, I think, is the 'Kaddish' (No.20?) but the others are-

No. 8 "Flowers of Poland" for tenor, chorus and orchestra
No.9 "Everlasting Times" for narrator, chorus and orchestra
No.11 "Festive Symphony" for chorus and orchestra
No.15 "I believe in this earth" for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra

[Dundonnell]

........or maybe not

I see from the MDT October Pre-Release listings that the Requiem has also been recorded in Vienna

[Lethevich]

It's so nice that this kind of music is now being made available in acceptable sounding recordings. As I didn't grow up with the Melodiya/Olympia recordings, they've never been all that satisfactory for me :\