The seventeen string quartets of Weinberg span nearly half a century, from his student days in Warsaw to the end of his career in Moscow, and show his development as a composer more clearly than his work in any other genre. The Second Quartet, composed in 1939 – 40 whilst studying in Minsk, was dedicated to his mother and sister, who he would later learn had not survived the German invasion of Poland. Quartet No. 5, of 1945, was the first in which he added titles to each movement, and reflects the influence of Shostakovich over the young composer. The final quartet in this programme – No. 8 – was written in 1959 and dedicated to the Borodin Quartet. For many years the best-known of Weinberg’s quartets in the west, this single-movement work is divided into three sections with a coda. The Arcadia Quartet is a passionate advocate for these quartets, writing: ‘[Weinberg’s] music is like a glow of light surrounded by the darkness of the unknown, and it quickly became a goal of ours to attempt to dilute these shadows. With every recording and every live performance of his music, we intend to shine some light on this wide-ranging, profound phenomenon, which has remained overlooked for so long, and we hope that, with time, Mieczys?aw Weinberg will take his rightful place in the history of music.’

REVIEW:

The Arcadia’s evident enthusiasm for the music is perfectly conveyed here with playing that maximises the emotional range explored in each work, as well as exploiting to the full the music’s tonal and textural varieties and its underlying sense of unease. These contrasts are placed in sharp relief when comparing the relentless Bartókian ferocity they achieve in the rhythmically dynamic Scherzo from the Fifth Quartet with the easygoing geniality that is projected in the opening movement of the Second, or the austere solemnity that characterises the slow sections of the Eighth.

–BBC Music Magazine

The life of Mieczyslaw Wajnberg, full of plenty of difficulties and adversities, reflects the history of an entire generation of Polish Jews, who had to face a cruel history fueled by the forces of totalitarianism. This fate left it's mark on the composer's work, who spent most of his life in the Soviet Union. As an artist of a "wrong origin," associated with Shostakovich, Rostropovich and Salomon Michoels, and not creating politically correct music, he was never a favourite of the authorities. The cello sonatas presented here carry a considerable aesthetic and emotional load, corresponding to the composer's socio-artistic relations and his cultural roots. Young Polish musicians - cellist Wojciech Fudala and pianist Michal Rot - successfully face the difficult work of the composer, who in fact belongs to three cultural circles. The closing the album piano miniature Berceuse, Op. 1, based on a poetic Slavic melody, entwined with a quasi-impressionist accompaniment, is a preview of Mieczyslaw Wajnberg's great compositional talent being born in the pre-war Warsaw.

The 100th anniversary of Mieczyslaw Wajnberg's birth in January 2019 is an excellent opportunity to bring his works closer to the Polish audience. Although in the recent years Wajnberg's works have been performed and recorded more and more often, his music in our country is well known only to a narrow group of recipients. The album of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio conducted by Anna Duczmal-Mr�z, including three pieces by Wajnberg (Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 145, Concerto for flute and strings No. 1, Op. 75 and Chamber Symphony No. 3, Op. 153) allows the recipient to get to know various facets of the composer, starting from the influences of Neoclassicism, ending with inspiration from the works by Dimitri Shostakovich.

In recent years, Mieczyslaw Weinberg has become one of the most recognizable Polish composers of the 20th century, which was significantly influenced by the hundredth anniversary of the composer's birth in December 2019. The project of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio devoted exclusively to works by Mieczyslaw Weinberg perfectly reflects the peculiar revival related to the interest in the artist in Poland and in the world. This album is another proposal from the Amadeus Orchestra series, this time dedicated to selected symphonies, the Flute Concerto No. 2 and the Sinfonietta for string orchestra and timpani, Op. 74.

In recent years, Mieczyslaw Weinberg has become one of the most recognizable Polish composers of the 20th century, which was significantly influenced by the hundredth anniversary of the composer’s birth in December 2019. The project of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio devoted exclusively to works by Mieczyslaw Weinberg perfectly reflects the peculiar revival related to the interest in the artist in Poland and in the world. This album is another proposal from the Amadeus Orchestra series, this time dedicated to selected symphonies of the Polish artist.

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 color. 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. The present release showcases his flute concertos, performed by The Silesian Chamber Orchestra with flutist Lukasz Dlugosz.

The best proof that Mieczyslaw Weinberg's music has fortunately and deservedly been experiencing a renaissance in recent years is another album devoted entirely to the person of this composer. This album entitled Weinberg � Sonatas for Violin and Piano was created on the initiative of violinist Michal Kowalczyk and pianists Dagmara Niedziela and Mateusz Rozek. The focus of the artists' interpretative vision is the multidimensionality of the composer's sound language, resulting from both the composer's tragic life experiences and him being rooted in three different cultural traditions. Each of the sonatas featured on the album seems to fully resonate with the events that were accompanying it's creation in terms of emotional expression. The recorded works, although they have just begun to make a regular appearance in concert programs, are undoubtedly a staple of the 20th-century chamber music.

RecArt presents a new album with chamber music for violin and piano of a distinguished Polish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg - 20th century creator compared by musicologists to Dimitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev. Artist whose tragic fate intertwined with the history of the Second World War and Jewish persecution. In recording participated Ewelina Nowicka - violin and Milena Antoniewicz - piano Media patronage: TVP Kultura, Radio Merkury, Twoja Muza magazine and Culture. Pl Discovering Weinberg by Ewelina Nowicka. Weinberg's music is about magnitude - large and original phrases with evocative dynamics. We leave the music halls for the open space of freedom. Nowadays Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996) is considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. During his lifetime Weinberg was perceived as a talented and much appreciated composer in the former USSR. He was a close friend and follower of Dmitri Shostakovich. Music lovers would even sometimes name Weinberg but really mean Shostakovich. A thorough analysis of Weinberg's compositions resulted in a clear conclusion that, although stylistically similar to Shostakovich, Weinberg's compositions are unique. Polish audience is particularly interested in raising Weinberg's profile on the European scale of contemporary classical composers. Weinberg was of Polish-Jewish origin (born in Warsaw), spoke Polish all his life, was largely influenced by the Polish culture and based his works on the Polish poets Adam Mickiewicz, Julian Tuwim and Leopold Staff. Globally, Weinberg is classified as a Russian composer of Polish-Jewish descent, known under the Russian name of Moisey Weinberg. On every day basis, however, Weinberg went by his Polish name, to which he then officially reverted in the early 1980's under the order of the court. Weinberg was born in Poland and became a promising talented piano student of J�zef Turczynski at the Warsaw Conservatory, giving his first recital at the age of 10. Weinberg attracted attention of J�zef Hofmann who wanted him to pursue further piano studies in the United States. The outbreak of World War II brought these plans to an end. In 1939, Weinberg escaped to the East. He came to Minsk where he studied composition under Vasily Zolotarev, the student of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. German invasion of the Soviet Union forced Weinberg to escape further into the inland of USSR. He worked in Tashkent as a pianist at the local opera. In 1942 Weinberg wrote his first Symphony and, intuitively, sent it to Dmitri Shostakovich, who appreciated Weinberg's work and invited him to Moscow. This was the beginning of not only long friendship between the two composers but the start of creative collaboration between two equals sharing similar values and styles. Weinberg never belonged to the Communist Party and tried to distance himself from the political reality. However, he officially had to accept and support the political system. Although Weinberg was not criticised as much as Shostakovich, he was nevertheless imprisoned in 1953. Had Stalin not passed away, Weinberg would have most certainly been executed by NKVD, or deported to the Siberian gulag. What is more, within the context of these times, Weinberg had the misfortune of being the son-in-law of the great Russian-Jewish actor, Solomon Mikhoels, the chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. Mikhoels would travel to the United States collecting necessary finance from the American Jewish community in the fight against the Nazi Germany. The foundation of the modern State of Israel prompted hopes among Russian Jews for a formation of an autonomous Jewish Republic within the USSR. Mikhoels was in the meantime assassinated in January 1949, with his death reported as a car accident in Minsk, followed then by the official funeral in Moscow. The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was then dissolved, with it's founders either executed or detained in gulags. Weinberg survived the persecution of January 1948, but he was captured by Stalin's secret service in 1953. In that year, Stalin focused on a set-up story of the Kremlin doctors who were to be held responsible for planing to poison USSR leaders. And, unfortunate for Weinberg, Mikhoel's brother, prof. Miron Vovsi, was one of the Kremlin doctors. In 1953, a few hours after the concert performance of Weinberg's Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes opus 47/2 (for violin and orchestra) by David Oistrakh and Natan Rakhlin, Weinberg was arrested and detained at the Lubyanka under the charges of antagonising Crimea against the USSR. Shostakovich reacted to Weinberg's arrest in two ways: first, he wrote a letter to Lavrentiy Beria requesting Weinberg's release, and, at the same time, applied and won temporary custody over Weinberg's young daughter to protect her from orphanage. Shostakovich's letter made no impact. With Stalin's death in March 1953, Weinberg was released and the Kremlin doctors' story cleared. As a composer in the Soviet Union Weinberg was clearly respected and his music was often performed by the renowned instrumentalists such as Leonid Kogan, David Oistrakh and Mstislav Rostropovich. Few vinyl discs, published by the record label Melodia, were, however, distributed in the West. And, although, nowadays it is considered that the 20th century Russia had three significan composers: Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Weinberg, this was actually not the perception at that time. Globally, Weinberg, as opposed to Shostakovich, was virtually unknown as an composer. He was only recognised for his musical score to the Russian blockbuster The Cranes Are Flying; the film winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Festival. At the end of his life, Weinberg was seriously ill with mental depression because of the inability to continue his work. Most of all, he felt underrated as a global classical composer. Weinberg's output is impressive and includes over 150 opuses: 26 symphonies, 6 concertos, 17 string quartets, 4 cantatas and 7 operas (i.e. one of them based on the novel by Zofia Posmysz - The Passenger). The time has now come for Weinberg. Record labels such as Olympia, CPO, Naxos and Chandos have released several recordings of Weinberg's works. The conductor, Gabriel Chmura, plays a vital role in raising Weinberg's global profile. Chmura has recorded to date three CDs by Weinberg for the record label Chandos, predominantly for distribution in the United Kingdom, Europe. The discs are currently unavailable on the Polish music market. David Fanning, a British musicologist, is the only one who has written a biography about Weinberg In Search of Freedom, published in English and German by Wolke Verlag. Over the last three years, there has been a significant increase in events and articles on the composer in Poland: a Weinberg Conference was organized in 2007 by prof. Michal Bristiger who then commented further in magazines such as de Musica or Zeszyty Literackie; other articles were written by Jacek Hawryluk in Gazeta Wyborcza, by Dorota Szwarcman in Midrasz and on internet; and, finally another article was published in Ruch Muzyczny. Despite all of this, the audience is yet to discover some of Weinberg's masterpieces, such as his Concertino opus 42, Sonatina opus 46 (for violin and piano), or the Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes opus 47 no. 1/3. The three-part Concertino opus 42 was written in 1948 during Stalinist attack on classical music. The background of the composition is unclear as the original manuscript is lost. The work exists in two versions: for violin and string orchestra, and for violin and piano. It's harmony and melodies take us back into Weinberg's Jewish town; with quiet cries contrasting dynamic rhythms in the later parts of this masterpiece. The Sonatina opus 46, dedicated to the Russian composer Boris Tchaikovsky, was written in 1949 and performed for the first time in 1955 by Leonid Kogan and the pianist Andrei Mitnik in Moscow. It consists of three parts: first - a lyrical one, second - mysterious, and third - focused on violin virtuosity. Finally, the Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes opus 47 was written in three versions: for orchestra, for violin and orchestra, and for violin and piano. The first performance of Version 1 took place in 1949, and soon after the relevant manuscript was published. The manuscript of Version 2 is lost, but it's first performance did take place in 1953 at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and was delivered personally by Weinberg and David Oistrakh. The inspiration for the Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes came directly from Weinberg's family. Moldavia, previously known as Bessarabia, was the native country of Weinberg's mother. The composer celebrated his childhood memories of the Moldavian-Jewish traditional folk tunes throughout this masterpiece. The time for Weinberg in Poland is yet to come, as one may think. The concert performances will provide full music satisfaction and prompt to discover more of Weinberg's compositions. Weinberg, without a doubt, is now a classic of the 20th century. His music by-passes trivial formal avangarde, and touches hearts and minds instead.

That art is not an end in itself, but is associated with a mission, a moral obligation, is evident in the artistic endeavor of Gidon Kremer. In his playing, the violinist has never stopped searching for truths hidden within the depth and beauty of music. "Gidon Kremer - Finding Your Own Voice" is a calm, thoughtful film about a great intellectual whose ethos, as a mediator of such truths, is alien to any form of self-aggrandizement. The release also includes a concert recording from the Gogol Center in Moscow, "Preludes to a Lost Time," the 24 Preludes op. 100 by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, which Gidon Kremer adapted for violin. The work can be regarded as a milestone in the violinist's artistic involvement with the music of this remarkable composer. Kremer performs them to projections of black-and-white images of Lithuanian photographer Antanas Sutkus, thereby visually emphasizing the narrative power of the music.

The 24 preludes for cello solo by Mieczyslaw Weinberg have a particular history. Composed in the late sixties for Mstislav Rostropovich, he never actually played them. Their musical language is aphoristic, often brutal, provocative in it's inner conflict. It contains many different gestures and is very intense. To perform these preludes might have been problematic in the Soviet Union back then. Gidon Kremer has adapted the Preludes for solo violin and this is the world premiere recording of his adaptation. In his concerts, Kremer often plays them to projections of works by the Lithuanian photographer Antanas Sutkus in the background. This album was recorded at Paliesiaus Dvaras in Lithuania in December 2017.

M. WEINBERG Cello Sonatas: No. 1 in C; No. 2 in g. Solo Cello Sonata No. 1 in C • Alexander Chaushian (vc); Yevgeny Sudbin (pn) • BIS 1648 (55:45)


After a decade’s hiatus—the British label Olympia embarked on a project back in the 1990s to record anew and/or remaster from earlier Melodiya LPs much of the composer’s output—there seems to be a resurgence of interest in the music of Polish-born Mieczys?aw Weinberg, (aka Moisey Samuilovich Vaynberg) 1919–1996. That this interest now extends to a mainstream label such as BIS is encouraging, for Weinberg is considered by many to be the most important Soviet era composer to follow in the musical footsteps of Shostakovich. Though Weinberg never formally studied with him, the elder Shostakovich befriended the young man, encouraged him to move to Moscow in 1943 after the Jewish Weinberg had lost almost his entire family in the Holocaust, and interceded on his behalf when Weinberg was arrested and detained as part of Stalin’s anti-Semitic dragnets.


Despite the friendship that bonded the two men, Weinberg’s music nods respectfully at Shostakovich’s, but does not unconditionally embrace it. His catalog of works is extensive—22 symphonies, 17 string quartets, large quantities of chamber works for various combinations of instruments, solo piano pieces, and seven operas. With due gratitude to Olympia for its efforts on Weinberg’s behalf, the label’s titles seem to have disappeared from the current listings; thus, this major composer’s works are ripe for new recordings. Chandos, for one, appears to have heeded the call with new recordings of the symphonies.


Even though the connections are at times tenuous, I can say that if you appreciate Shostakovich you will respond positively to Weinberg. Not all assessments of Weinberg’s music though, have been positive. Cellist Alexander Ivashkin, for whom Schnittke wrote a number of works, has been most critical, arguing that composers such as Weinberg damaged not only their own reputations, but also that of Shostakovich himself, stating that “these works only served to kill off Shostakovich’s music, to cover it over with a scab of numerous and bad copies.”


I disagree. Clearly, the life experiences of both composers led them to dark and devastating places in their music, and often to programmatic content of mindless violence and the terrible human suffering it produced. But where Shostakovich mocks and satirizes the ugliness and deformities by painting them with a twisted, defaced mask of cheap, tawdry face-rouge, Weinberg seems to have less of a taste for the sarcastic and the sardonic. Lyudmilla Nikitina in Grove finds influences in Weinberg’s music of Bartók, Myaskovsky, Prokofiev, and even Mahler, and emphasizes the “neo-classical, rationalist clarity and proportion of his works.” Then too, ethnic influences of Jewish, Polish, Armenian, Moldavian, and klezmer music are also part of the picture.


The recording of Cello Sonata No. 1 appears to be, at this time, the only one available of this work. Happily, it’s a superb one. [The other two can be found separately on Hanssler and Albany.] Cellist Alexander Chaushian distinguishes himself in all three, but really shines in the technically daunting solo sonata, a work that manages to satisfy and reward as both a virtuosic display piece and a profoundly moving piece of music. Pianist Yevgeny Sudbin has been making a splash of late with his recent recordings of Scriabin, Medtner, and Tchaikovsky. It’s easy to hear why from his playing here. He has fingers of steel guided by the caressing touch of an angel.


An outstanding release and a must-add to your collection. Incidentally, due to the number of disparate transliterations and spellings of Weinberg’s name, you will find him listed at arkivmusic.com as Moisey Samuil Vaynberg. It would be helpful if record producers and annotators came up with a consensus spelling.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

The subtitle of this symphony Bright May would normally lead one to think that, being written by a Soviet composer, it alluded to 1 May and the workers’ holiday. In this case you would be wrong since it refers to the month the ‘Great Patriotic War’, (the Second World War to most of us) ended. In the first of three linked movements Weinberg describes the devastation left by the war with an overwhelmingly sad introduction. This finally gives way to a calm pastoral episode that continues until disturbed by an insistent and ominous theme heavy with foreboding. This mood finally returns to the pastoral calm. Merging almost seamlessly the second movement opens with a gentle theme that once again is disturbed by a threatening passage leading to a central climax during which percussion and brass dominate before peace returns once more. This leads us into the symphony’s final movement that, like the other two, is a sequence of calm interludes interrupted by ominous passages. The symphony finally ends on a positive note.

It has often been the case that composers horrified either by the looming threat of war or its unleashing, felt compelled to express this horror in music. However, it is unusual for a composer to take a war as a theme for, in Weinberg’s case, a set of three symphonies, so many years after its end. I wondered if the passage of time leads to a better historical view of it musically or whether memory is dulled over the decades. I can’t answer that as I’m not yet acquainted with symphonies 17 and 18 but I can say that this one certainly does express the joy that must have been felt when that terrible war, whose cost was so appalling, was finally over. The continuing disturbance of that joy expressed by the gentle pastoral sections, by the dark clouds of martial sounding passages and thunderous brass and percussion can surely mean only one thing; to emphasise that winning the peace would be as challenging as winning the war. After all, Stalin was still ruling Russia with all that implied.
 
Weinberg could never have been described as a ‘Party’ hack, though like many other Soviet composers, including Shostakovich, he did write some works that could be described as “socialist realist”. These were linked to aspects of Soviet policy. An example is Weinberg’s 1985 Symphonic Poem The Banners of Peace. This followed shortly after the 19 ^th Symphony and was dedicated to the 27 ^th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party. Apart from some references to revolutionary songs such as the Varshavianka the music is not overtly propagandist nor is it bombastic in any way; rather it could be construed as a critique. After all, the words of the Varshavianka, which is quoted throughout, include “We will drown our enemies in their own blood, Death to the ruthless, To all pests of the workers, Death to tsars and plutocrats!”. In 1985, over 80 years after the song’s first appearance, these words seem at odds with the concept of peace. I regard this work more as another example of Weinberg’s ability to make powerful statements and this in music that is expressive and exciting. Viewed as such this work forms another worthy addition to the increasing amount of his music available in recorded form. We should be grateful.
 
Both works are given committed performances full of colour from an orchestra that will surely have this music in their blood. It is conducted with verve and enthusiasm by Vladimir Lande.
 
-- Steve Arloff , MusicWeb International

WEINBERG Symphony No. 12. The Golden Key: Ballet Suite No. 4 • Vladimir Lande, cond; St. Petersburg St SO • NAXOS 8.573085 (75: 40)


I have been at least mildly enthusiastic about Lande’s previous Weinberg discs for Naxos (Symphony No. 6 on 8.572779 and Symphony No. 19 on 8.572752) and this one is as good, if not better. This is not the first recording of Weinberg’s Symphony No. 12—Maxim Shostakovich had that privilege—but it appears to be the only one available on CD, and the coupling, which is very different in tone, and a nice complement to the symphony, is as enjoyable as it is generous.


Weinberg’s Symphony No. 12 “In Memoriam D. Shostakovich” was composed in 1976, a year after Shostakovich’s death. Many of Weinberg’s works are stylistically similar to Shostakovich’s. This is not surprising, as Shostakovich was a friend and mentor to Weinberg, almost from the time that the latter arrived in the Soviet Union after fleeing his native Poland. This symphony is particularly Shostakovich-like. Although it is “in memoriam,” it is not funereal in tone. In fact, like many of Shostakovich’s works, it displays an emotional ambiguity that encourages a number of interpretations from performers and from listeners alike. Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony appears to have been an especially strong source of inspiration, but the work’s structure—for example, the epic first movement—is more reminiscent of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10. The D-S-C-H (D-E?-C-B) monogram even makes several subtle appearances. The symphony’s themes are distinctive, and Weinberg is a surefooted musical architect. Another similarity with Shostakovich is his ear for unusual scoring, and his always interesting and sometimes grotesque use of wind instruments at the extremes of their register. No one hearing this symphony for the first time will miss its connections with Shostakovich. Weinberg is not an imitator, however, any more than Telemann imitated Bach.


The Golden Key is a ballet from 1955 based on a story by Aleksey Tolstoy. The lead character, Burattino, is a puppet, and the eponymous golden key allows its bearer to enter the country of Happiness. In addition to puppets, there are various animal characters as well. On one level, this is an innocent ballet—even a children’s ballet—but its themes of rebellion and idealism also suggest a deeper and even socio-political interpretation. Shostakovich’s ballet scores have their moments of excellence as well as moments of more workmanlike writing. The Golden Key , from what I have heard of it, is at least on their level. The first three suites were recorded by Mark Ermler with the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra—Olympia OCD 473, if you can find it. That disc also included excerpts from the Fourth Suite. In other words, all four suites have been recorded. Taken together, they add up to about 85 minutes of music, so I am wondering if all of the ballet’s music was used in one of the four suites.


As on the previous CDs, Lande and the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra are very satisfactory. Certainly one can imagine more assertive conducting and a richer sounding orchestra, but I don’t think anyone will be unhappy with these performances. In fact, I would say that this is an improvement from the earlier recordings, particularly that of the Symphony No. 6, but that’s one Weinberg symphony in which there was more competition. If you’re interested in Shostakovich, or in music from the Soviet Union in general, there is absolutely no reason not to give this fine new CD a try.


FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

Mieczyslaw Weinberg's works for flute were mainly conceived for the renowned soloist Alexander Korneyev. The earliest of these is the 12 Pieces from 1947, a playful series of character studies that touch on a variety of moods. Also from 1947, the recently rediscovered 5 Pieces draws on Debussy and the early string quartet Capriccio, Op. 11 for it's ironic good humor. The First Flute Concerto has a genial air with klezmer influences while the Second Flute Concerto, among Weinberg's last works, is often introspective and valedictory in mood. This is the first complete recording of Weinberg's entire output for accompanied flute. Flutist Claudia Stein has appeared with numerous international orchestras and performed regularly in the Bayreuth Festival orchestra. As a chamber musician she has appeared at major European festivals, as well as in Israel, America and Japan. She has worked as a soloist with conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Philippe Jordan and Sebastian Weigle.

The East-West Chamber Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the Yuri Bashmet International Music Festival and is made up of concertmasters from leading orchestras and competition laureates. On this, their debut recording, they celebrate the centenary of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's birth. Weinberg's Chamber Symphonies reflect his creativity and the dramatic times in which he lived- the formal lucidity and directness of the First and the elegiac Third- both derived from string quartets composed in the shadow of the Second World War. The East-West Chamber Orchestra is comprised of outstanding soloists, including laureates of prestigious international competitions, and concertmasters and leaders of renowned orchestras, performing on exceptional instruments including Stradivarius, Guarneris and Guadagninis.