Mieczyslav Weinberg (aka Moisey Vainberg) was in fact born and raised in Poland, but the vast majority of his compositional career was in the Soviet Union and he remained there for the rest of his life, in Minsk (now the capital of independent Belarus). He therefore comes well within the definition of 'Russian' for the purpose of this series and was certainly treated as such by the authorities. This and the preceding album (dda25105) which includes the first three sonatas, were originally released on the now defunct Olympia label but had a relativley short life and restricted distribution, and are still the only full recordings of these very fine works. This is music which though modern is written to comply with Soviet requirements and is thus also very approachable and melodic without ever being trite or unoriginal.

"Murray McLachlan is ideal in this repertoire, playing with both sensitivity and bravura. These former Olympia recordings are excellent, with excellent piano tone and there are first rate notes by the late Per Skans. Th[is] beautifully produced discs [is] thoroughly recommended."
-- The Classical Reviewer