Possibly the best Weinberg ever heard on record
Album Of The WeekFrom this week’s Lebrecht Album of the Week:
When I first came across Mieczysław Weinberg 30 years ago, he was listed as Vainberg in the Western dictionary, and the only music one could hear was on grainy Soviet Melodiya. These days, you’ll find him on major labels in the most impressive orchestral sound, if not always the most penetrative interpretation. When people ask me, ‘where do I start with Weinberg?’, I’ve had no easy answer — until now….
Read on here.
And here.
En francais ici.
In Spanish here.
In Czech here.
In The Critic here.
It’s worth noting that this weekend two symphonies by Weinberg were performed at Vienna’s Musikvereinsal. This long-neglected composer is now right in the centre of mainstream.
There are so many ways to explore the music of Weinberg if you search for recordings of Gidon Kremer. You can start with the solo violin sonatas, the 24 preludes for cello transcribed for violin or the recordings he made with Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla. You will hear the soul of Weinberg in each of these recordings.
Is there a reason given as to why the cellist seems to prefer the original “bis” version of the Op. 43 cello concerto to the final, published version?