Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996)
Chamber Symphony No. 1 for String orchestra Op. 145 (1986)
Chamber Symphony No. 4 for Clarinet and String orchestra Op. 153 (1992)
Bengt Sandström (clarinet)
Umeå Symphony Orchestra/Thord Svedlund
rec. 1998, Strömbäck Folk High School, Sweden
Alto ALC1471 [62]
The Polish-born composer Weinberg has become increasingly popular in recent years owing to musicians and recording companies proselytising his largely unknown works for almost every genre, from film and theatre music to operas and ballets. At the core of his creativity are the symphonies that fall under the shadow of Shostakovich – his friend and mentor. A refugee from the Nazis in 1939, he sought asylum in the Soviet Union, developing a successful career exclusively as a composer but not as a teacher, unlike many of his composer colleagues who lectured in conservatoires in Moscow and Leningrad.
His significance as a composer came to light only in the post-Soviet era, but he found that the Soviet musical public was more open to his work than his home country. The USSR had a developed network of musical performances, so he could always be performed by the country’s outstanding musicians such as the Borodin Quartet and the Moscow orchestras with conductors such as Kondrashin and Fedoseyev who believed in his work. Thus, it is easy to see why he never returned to peoples’ Poland after the war, preferring to share his music with his long-term friend Shostakovich.
I first heard his music when an LP of his Violin Concerto and Fourth Symphony was issued on the HMV Melodiya label. The powerful arguments and melodic richness of these works impressed me greatly. His music seemed to share a kinship with Prokofiev – and somewhat with Kabalevsky; however, his musical language has a distinct individuality. We had to wait for the CD era before more of his music became available, notably on the Olympia label which launched a series of orchestral and chamber music continuing after the composer’s death in 1996.
The Chamber Symphony No 1 dates from 1986, quite late in Weinberg’s career. He didn’t want it to be just another symphony – he had already composed twenty of those and had no intention of matching Myaskovsky’s twenty-seven. In an interview, he said: ‘You know, I had no desire to carry on with this series of high numbers.’ The work is written in a serene idiom, without the stress and angst of his symphonies, almost as if he has found security and repose in his late years.
The first movement Allegro, is in traditional sonata form and structure, albeit that there are dissonances and a citation from Shostakovich’s Tenth Quartet (dedicated to Weinberg). The second movement Scherzo opens with a cantilena before there suddenly comes a passage of ghostly playing before the cantilena returns. The third movement Allegretto takes the form of a rondo while the Finale: Presto employs song-like themes with a dominant G major.
The Chamber Symphony No. 4 dates from 1992 and is dedicated to Boris Tchaikovsky. It was his penultimate composition and may be considered a summation of his life’s work. Weinberg introduces a solo clarinet with timpani (albeit for only four notes), and reflects on his late belief in religion. ‘I said to myself that God is everywhere. Since my First Symphony, a sort of chorale has been wandering around within me.’
The work opens in the first movement, Lento, with a chorale heralding a series of psalmic quasi-songs, showing a kinship with Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. The clarinet of Bengt Sandström plays a recitative passage before we hear a reprise of the chorale. The Scherzo starts without a break with a triple forte, and as it dies, a clarinet monologue is followed by a passage for the violin of David Björkman before Kerstin Isakson on solo cello closes with a questioning tritone of F sharp-C.
The third movement Adagio follows without a break with a beautiful folk-song idea on the clarinet that is later heard on the strings – the last section reprises the recitative, and a triangle announces another folk-like cadenza on the clarinet as the music slowly comes to a tranquil close.
The playing by the Umeå Symphony Orchestra is of a very high standard, with exceptional virtuosity from clarinettist Bengt Sandstrom. Thord Svedlund’s conducting is excellent; it is clear that the musicians believe in this music giving faithful performances of this fine music. The sound has a clear, natural aural picture.
These were the world premiere recordings when released by Olympia in 1998; Alto, which issued them in 2011, has re-issued them here remastered by Paul Arden Taylor (who also remastered Myaskovsky’s symphonies). The CD reprints the original notes in English by Pers Skans from 1998 with a link to a website devoted to the composer’s music. There are more recent recordings of these works on Chandos, ECM and Naxos, but I can recommend this excellent re-issue.
Gregor Tassie
Previous review (Alto ALC1037): Rob Barnett
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