The Polish-born Soviet composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg (also known as Moishe Vainberg and by other names) was close to Shostakovich, who admired him and may have saved his life on one occasion. He was quite prolific and did not quite have Shostakovich's talent for catching the zeitgeist, but the best of his work easily stands up to comparison with that of the older Russian master. This release from the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra of Krasnoyarsk (geographically remote but entirely adequate to the music) under Vladimir ...
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The Polish-born Soviet composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg (also known as Moishe Vainberg and by other names) was close to Shostakovich, who admired him and may have saved his life on one occasion. He was quite prolific and did not quite have Shostakovich's talent for catching the zeitgeist, but the best of his work easily stands up to comparison with that of the older Russian master. This release from the Siberian State Symphony Orchestra of Krasnoyarsk (geographically remote but entirely adequate to the music) under Vladimir Lande would make a good place to start with Weinberg. The two works on the program are strikingly different from each other, and the opening piece, the 1950 Suite for Orchestra, is a world-premiere recording that's worth the purchase price in itself. This is a suite of dances written in the officially acceptable neo-classic manner, and its blithe elegance will be a great surprise to those who know Weinberg only from his generally weighty symphonies. It fits with the music Shostakovich...
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