Weinberg Chamber Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3

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 Mieczysław 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 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.

Symphonic thinking dominated Mieczysław Weinberg’s final decade, and these chamber symphonies are part of an interrelated sequence that reworks and cites earlier pieces. The Second Chamber Symphony draws on a string quartet from 1944, reflecting the sombre and fatalistic tone of the period. The Fourth Chamber Symphony was Weinberg’s last completed work, and uses a haunting chorale melody that he once referred to as a constant presence throughout his creativity. Weinberg’s First and Third Chamber Symphonies (8.574063) ‘blossom in vividly colourful performances’ (Pizzicato).

The concert repertoire can be viewed as an ocean into which two distinct rivers flow. One carries music works inspired first and foremost by emotions. The ancient Greeks believed that music was born out of despair; the cries of Medusa in the face of imminent death inspired Athene to play moving tunes on her aulos. In most cases, it is the feeling of nostalgia, sadness, even despair that provides impulses for music composition. Wajnberg’s string quartets presented on this album clearly belong to this emotional current in music – especially the Eleventh and the Thirteenth. But ancient Greeks also told the story of Hermes finding the shell of a dried tortoise with a few tense sinews still left. When plucked, they produced sounds, which inspired the god to build a lyre. Here we come to the second river of repertoire – pieces of music born out of curiosity.