Mieczysław Weinberg: Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 / Piano Quintet – Weinberg Edition Vol. 4

At the Weinberg retrospective of the 2010 Bregenz Festival, the focus was on the staged world premiere of his opera Die Passenger, but the performance of more than twenty other works provided an insight into the incredible richness of the oeuvre of this forgotten composer. Weinberg felt compelled to compose to justify surviving the Holocaust as the only one in his family. The resulting magnificent symphonic and chamber music works are full of melancholy and defiance. Thank you to NEOS for allowing others to be a part of the rediscovery of this inspired and important composer.

David Pountney

Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 2 Op. 63 (1959)

The famous cellist Mstislav Rostropovich met Weinberg through Shostakovich, who wrote his first cello concerto for the sought-after performer in 1959. Weinberg's second cello sonata, written at the same time, may be an answer. On the other hand, the composer repeatedly emphasized his artistic independence from Shostakovich. Rather, a fruitful dialogue developed between the two personalities.

New works were shown for review and mutual inspiration was given. Last but not least, Shostakovich stood up for the younger Weinberg, even in politically difficult times. It is noteworthy that the main theme from Shostakovich's cello concerto is found in the finale of Weinberg's second cello sonata. You can't express a friendship more narrowly.

The percussive use of the piano in the finale is somewhat reminiscent of the merging of folklore and modern harmony in Bartók's Allegro barbaro (1911). The movement once again underscores Weinberg's great pianistic abilities, and Rostropovich was also enthusiastic about his piano skills: at a song recital given by his wife Galina Wischnewskaja, Weinberg stood in for the sick Swjatoslav Richter at short notice and mastered the demanding program with flying colors.

The first two movements of Weinberg's cello sonata are lyrical and beautifully bring out the cantabile character of the cello. The sweeping melody in the moderato beautifully emphasizes the low register of the stringed instrument. Folk music and expressive breath flow into each other.

Weinberg develops the long escalation in a grandiose way, which culminates after about five minutes and is then answered by a short swan song. The middle movement begins like a tender lullaby, Weinberg first lets the cello whisper in a controlled manner, later plucking sensitively. Leading melody and accompaniment switch seamlessly between the partners.

Shostakovich's Cello Sonata in D minor op. 40 was often cited as a starting point for Weinberg's second cello sonata. Certainly there is one or the other relationship, but also many differences. This applies not only to the number of movements (four in Shostakovich, three in Weinberg), but above all to Weinberg's more concise structure and the always very transparent piano writing. He himself emphasized that his friendship with Shostakovich "unconsciously" spurred on his "compositional creativity".

piano quintet Op. 18 (1944)

One of the most notable compositions from the Second World War period is the Piano Quintet op. 18. It was premiered on March 18, 1945 in Moscow by Emil Gilels and strings of the Bolshoi Theater. There is also a recording made in the early 1960s with Weinberg on piano and the Borodin Quartet. The extroverted character of some passages may indicate the moving period in which the work was written.

In 1939, the composer fled from his native Poland to escape from the German Wehrmacht. He first lived in Minsk, Belarus, then in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The young man was certainly impressed by the cultural influences of these cities, where Weinberg met many artists and musicians who had emigrated. In the late summer of 1943 Weinberg moved to Moscow with his young wife Natalja - at the invitation of Shostakovich, who supported him.

Similar to Shostakovich's famous counterpart, Weinberg's Piano Quintet is in five movements. It has two scherzos which, together with the furious finale, make up the dynamic, motoric breath of the piece. The slow movement and the introductory moderato, on the other hand, are full of expression and characterized by a melancholy tone. Sometimes you think you are hearing commemorative music. Weinberg certainly often thought of his abandoned parents and his sister, who died in Warsaw.

However, these highly subjective, experienced aspects of the piano quintet are integrated into a superior form and elaboration. The work, completed in 1944, is very well thought out. The introductory themes run like a red thread through the five-movement work. Filigree counterpoint and exquisite sonority reveal the genius of the young Weinberg, who presents himself to the musical world with extreme self-confidence.

The variable treatment of the string instruments and their sometimes novel connection with the demanding piano part reveal a new chamber music quality. The Russian composer Yuri Levitan recognized this in his review of the sheet music edition and particularly praised the "movingly lyrical and profoundly meditative Adagio".

Matthew Corvin