Mieczyslaw Weinberg (Moishei Vainberg)The Composer and His Music |
The music of Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919 - 1996) is among some of the 20th century's greatest hidden treasures.
Born in Poland, Weinberg emigrated to Russia in perilous circumstances, where he was to live out the rest of his
days half-way between deserved fame and unjustified neglect. Often seen in the shadow of his close friend Dimitry
Shostakovich, by whom he was regarded as one of the most outstanding composers of the day, Weinberg is slowly being
rediscovered as a 20th century genius, a figure of immense significance in the landscape of post-modern classical
music.
Weinberg's musical idiom stylistically mixes traditional and contemporary forms, combining a freely tonal, individual
language inspired by Shostakovich with ethnic (Jewish, Polish, Moldovian) influences and a unique sense of form,
harmony and colour. His prolific output includes no less than 17 string quartets, over 20 large-scale symphonies,
numerous sonatas for solo stringed instruments and piano as well as operas and film-scores. With the constant stream
of recordings, score publications and concerts over the last decade, many of these gems have been unearthed to finally
receive the critical praise and attention they deserve.
This site aims to provide a unique resource in the service of further promoting Weinberg's music to a wider audience,
with information about the composer's life and works, as well as a collection of links to complementary internet sites.
It is hoped that the site can foster a deeper appreciation of Weinberg's music, with all its power, originality and
beauty, and allow listeners and musicians alike to partake in the rediscovery of one of the great classical masters of
the modern era.
Contents:
| Biography (1st) |
Outstanding article about the life of Weinberg and his music, written by Robert R. Reilly
for the Catholic Information Center's periodical magazine Crisis
(now the Crisis Magazine), Feb 2000.
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| Music |
A short essay about Weinberg's music, brief reflections on various pieces, as well as
information about obtaining musical scores.
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| CDs |
Reviews and recommendations of Weinberg performances on CD, as well as a list of some major recording labels
releasing Weinberg's music.
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| Links |
Links to other useful references/sites about Weinberg.
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External resources:
| Biography (2nd) |
Another excellent biography in an article by Martin Anderson, from classical.net, 1996.
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| List of works |
List of works and recordings/discography of Weinberg, compiled by Onno van Rijen.
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| Discography |
A very comprehensive and up-to-date Weinberg discography from Claude Torres, sorted chronologically as well
as by genre.
|
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"[Moishei] Vainberg, aka Mieczyslaw Weinberg, 1919-96, has suffered for far too long from being
considered (where he is considered at all) as being a Shostakovich epigone. But Shostakovich was not
of that opinion: His professional and personal respect for Vainberg ran very deep, and practical;
[...] The superficial similarities of style fall away once you get to know Weinberg's [Vainberg's]
music, and a fully formed, wholly individual composer emerges, one of the most compelling voices of
the 20th century."
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From Fanfare USA, Recording reviews, Martin Anderson
(http://www.chamberorchestrakremlin.ru/record/Rec_rev_Vainberg_Fanfare.htm [Online 7/4/2004])
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"[...] Weinberg is the third great Soviet composer, along with Prokofiev and Shostakovich."
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From Classical.net Reviews, "Mieczyslaw Weinberg", Steve Schwartz
(http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/o/oly00473a.html [Online 10/4/2004])
Per Skans on Mieczyslaw Weinberg's (Moishei Vainberg's) name:
"Why Weinberg?
Why not Vainberg?
Why not Wainberg?
Or Vajnberg?
Or Wajnberg?
The reason is very simple: Weinberg is correct, all other spellings are wrong! Weinberg grew up and
spent his first twenty years in Poland, where the Latin alphabet is used, and he and his family spelt
the name exactly this way. Its origin is German/Yiddish. Any other spelling in the Latin alphabet must
thus be avoided!
I confess having a certain guilt myself, since I once accepted - without checking them - certain rumours
that Weinberg himself preferred the spelling "Vainberg". I discovered my error after I had written the
texts for half a dozen CDs in the large series of Olympia in London, and I wanted to change the spelling,
but they refused. In fact I understand this, because it would have confused their customers if they had
changed it in the middle of a series. Nevertheless the CDs have unfortunately contributed to the present
Babylonic situation.
The variety of (wrong) spellings is due to the circumstance that various people believed that the original
spelling of the name was the one of the Russian alphabet. They then transliterated the name into the Latin
alphabet, according to various rules (an ironical detail being that Soviet scores -- of all! -- used the
correct spelling Weinberg!). But now Weinberg is becoming increasingly accepted. The New Groves, the
famous dictionary, used the English transliteration "Vaynberg" some years ago, but in the Internet edition
they have now corrected this into Weinberg.
I am at present writing a biography in English which is scheduled to appear in 2005 at Toccata Press in
London; there I of course am using the correct spelling Weinberg!
Per Skans
Uppsala, Sweden" (from personal correspondence with Per Skans)
Book: Mieczyslaw Weinberg: In Search of Freedom
Sadly, Per Skans passed away in 2007, before being able to complete the book mentioned above. Nevertheless, the
book project was not abandoned, and was handed over to David Fanning from the University of Manchester, UK, who
is currently taking it to its full realization. An interim book reflecting the ongoing work is already published in
English and German translation:
 |
 |
Fanning, David,
Mieczyslaw Weinberg: In Search of Freedom (in English).
Wolke Verlagsges. Mbh., 2010, ISBN-13: 978-3936000917. |
Fanning, David, Jens Hagestedt (Tr.),
Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Auf der Suche nach Freiheit (in German).
Wolke Verlagsges. Mbh, 2010, ISBN-13: 978-3936000900 |
It is available from the UK and Germany (e.g. Amazon UK/de, bookdepository.co.uk etc.), but not from amazon.com it seems.
David Fanning is a strong Weinberg exponent, and while perhaps not all opinions expressed there are shared universally,
the book is a worthwhile read for any admirer (current and even potential!) of Weinberg's music.
Questions and feedback:
If you have any questions, or would like to share your opinions and impressions of Weinberg's music, or just give some
feedback on this site, please write to mail@music-weinberg.net.
