Clarinet Concerto, Op. 104 (1970); Clarinet Sonata, Op. 28 (1945);
Chamber Symphony No. 4, Op. 153 for clarinet, triangle, and string orchestra
(1992). Robert Oberaigner, clarinet; Michael Schöch, piano; Michail Jurowski,
Dresden Chamber Soloists. Naxos 8.574192.
By Karl W. Nehring
Polish-born Soviet composer Mieczysław
Weinberg (1939-1996) was also known as Moisey or Moishe Vainberg, Moisey
Samuilovich Vaynberg, and you will occasionally run across older recordings
with one of the alternative names, although for more recent recordings,
“Mieczysław Weinberg” is now the standard spelling. Weinberg fled Europe for
the Soviet Union at the outbreak of World War II. There he met Shostakovich,
with whom he became a close friend, and who urged him to move to Moscow in
1943. He eventually lived close to Shostakovich, and the two shared musical
ideas. Thanks to recordings and concerts by musicians such as Gidon Kremer, his
music is becoming more widely known internationally. If you have not yet
auditioned any of Weinberg’s music, this new Naxos release would be a fine
place to start.
The opening movement of the Clarinet Concerto, marked Allegro, opens whimsically as the clarinet plays in its lower register, soon to be joined by the strumming sounds of the lower strings, and then the upper strings join in. The playful mood dissipates at about the 3:30 point, when the music becomes brooding, quickly followed by a shift toward the dramatic. After a minute or so of that, the pace becomes more driven, bursting into a gallop before turning quieter and moodier, the tension building as the movement ends. The Andante that follows begins in the strings, the clarinet not entering for 90 seconds or so. When it does join in, the melody it plays is wistful. The mood established is not quite tragic, but certainly serious. At the nine-minute mark, the mood becomes very serious indeed, the music lower in volume, ending in a chord that is followed immediately by a perky melody from the clarinet. The Allegretto closing movement begins without pause, with a five-note theme that gets repeated in various guises as the movement continues. But then once again Weinberg shifts moods, the perkiness going away at around the 4:30 mark. A couple of minutes later clarinetist Robert Oberaigner performs a remarkable cadenza that is followed by an exuberant dash to the finish line by the orchestra, with the five-note theme reappearing as the movement and the piece come to an end.
Next on the program is Weinberg’s Clarinet Sonata, for which
Oberaigner is joined by pianist Michael Schöch. The opening Allegro
begins with solo clarinet, but the piano quickly joins in as their melodies
commence to intertwine playfully. After a couple of minutes, the duo
decelerates, the music becoming more serious-sounding. From there, things get
more boisterous, almost martial in tone, shifting once again to take on an even
more serious, probing tone, slowing and easing down to the end of the movement.
Naturally enough, the following Allegretto movement starts off with a
jaunty melody from the clarinet, with the piano quickly joining in, both
instruments generating a feeling of forward motion. The mood soon becomes even
more demonstrative, with both instruments taking solo turns, but then the tempo
slows down significantly, the music becoming quiet and introspective,
ultimately fading into silence. Although it seemed perfectly natural for
Weinberg to have followed the sober ending of the first movement with the
playful opening of the second movement, he has a surprise up his sleeve for us
now, choosing to conclude the piece with an Adagio final movement. For
the first couple of minutes we hear nothing from the clarinet, the piano
soloing until the clarinet eventually enters. The music feels restless and
unsettled, seemingly wanting to go into a dance but just not being able to
muster sufficient energy. After some funereal chords from the piano, the
clarinet enters with a yearning melody. The piece ends with a slow melody on
the clarinet followed by more chords from the piano.
The cover illustration for this CD is from a painting by Gustav Klimt titled Birch Forest I. The opening Lento movement of the Chamber Symphony No. 4 can evoke the feeling of walking in such woods, alone, contemplating some or another matter, or perhaps trying to ascertain just where you are and where you are going. Are you lost? Beginning softly on the strings, the simple melody is haunting and ruminative. The clarinet comes in after three minutes have gone by, taking up the restless, unsettled mood for a while until dropping out and letting the strings take back over. Before the ending, the mood and tone change once again, almost as if the wanderer in the woods has shifted concerns to another issue before the movement fades out at its end. The second movement, marked Allegro molto – Moderato, adopts a more outgoing feeling, evoking a sense of motion, of being in a hurry. Not necessarily frantic, but certainly determined. A four-note theme emerges in the strings, until a clarinet solo, followed by a violin solo, wand then finally a cello taking the lead until the end of the movement. The third and longest movement, marked Adagio — Mosso, darts quietly, led by clarinet and cello, the music featuring a brooding melody as the strings take over. Toward the end, of the movement, the music becomes softer, almost ethereal, leading without pause into the final Andantino — Adagissimo movement as the clarinet changes the mood once again, playing above the strings, At about the five-minute mark, tension builds, than the clarinet takes a solo in its lower register, shifting the tone to become very brooding and inward-looking, the piece ending in the bass strings. Although the clarinet plays a significant role in proceedings, this truly is a chamber symphony, not a concerto by any means, but a truly moving and remarkable work.
Despite their sometimes serious, even brooding moods, all three pieces
are tonal, melodic, and entertaining. The recorded sound is excellent, with the
clarinet not given undue prominence in the mix in the orchestral works
(recorded in Dresden) and the piano and clarinet blending well in the sonata
(recorded in Innsbruck), neither instrument being captured too closely by the
microphones. The liner notes are informative, although printed in teeny-tiny
font. However, thank goodness that Naxos had the decency and common sense to
use black font on a white background. Especially if you are a fan of the
clarinet, and even more so should you happen to enjoy the music of Shostakovich
(or, of course, if you are already familiar with and a fan of Weinberg), you
should find this relatively unknown music by a somewhat overlooked composer to
be a pleasurable discovery indeed.
Bonus Recommendation: So many recordings, so little time… As I state in my brief Classical Candor bio, I am a music lover who enjoys getting and giving recommendations of recordings. Because our focus is generally on newer releases, I thought it might be fun (at least for me) and interesting (perhaps, at least occasionally, for you) to pass along brief recommendations of CDs that are older, occasionally even out of print, but well worth a listen. These will not be full reviews, just recommendations with a snip of description and a snatch of commentary. I hope you find them to be useful, or entertaining, or at least not an utter waste of time. Here goes…
My first bonus recommendation is for a compilation of music by the remarkable Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937) titled Moments of Memory II (Naxos 8.573598). By the way, the album title is actually the title of one of the compositions, so don’t bother trying to find a CD titled Moments of Memory I. The performers include pianist Iryna Starodub and the Kiev Virtuosi under the direction of Dmitry Yablosnky. The half-dozen compositions are essentially gentle, soothing, almost dreamlike in character. At the same time, there is enough going on to intrigue the intellect and stimulate the imagination. In these troubled, turbulent times, this is music that can be a significant source of sonic succor.
KWN
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
By Karl W. Nehring
The opening movement of the Clarinet Concerto, marked Allegro, opens whimsically as the clarinet plays in its lower register, soon to be joined by the strumming sounds of the lower strings, and then the upper strings join in. The playful mood dissipates at about the 3:30 point, when the music becomes brooding, quickly followed by a shift toward the dramatic. After a minute or so of that, the pace becomes more driven, bursting into a gallop before turning quieter and moodier, the tension building as the movement ends. The Andante that follows begins in the strings, the clarinet not entering for 90 seconds or so. When it does join in, the melody it plays is wistful. The mood established is not quite tragic, but certainly serious. At the nine-minute mark, the mood becomes very serious indeed, the music lower in volume, ending in a chord that is followed immediately by a perky melody from the clarinet. The Allegretto closing movement begins without pause, with a five-note theme that gets repeated in various guises as the movement continues. But then once again Weinberg shifts moods, the perkiness going away at around the 4:30 mark. A couple of minutes later clarinetist Robert Oberaigner performs a remarkable cadenza that is followed by an exuberant dash to the finish line by the orchestra, with the five-note theme reappearing as the movement and the piece come to an end.
The cover illustration for this CD is from a painting by Gustav Klimt titled Birch Forest I. The opening Lento movement of the Chamber Symphony No. 4 can evoke the feeling of walking in such woods, alone, contemplating some or another matter, or perhaps trying to ascertain just where you are and where you are going. Are you lost? Beginning softly on the strings, the simple melody is haunting and ruminative. The clarinet comes in after three minutes have gone by, taking up the restless, unsettled mood for a while until dropping out and letting the strings take back over. Before the ending, the mood and tone change once again, almost as if the wanderer in the woods has shifted concerns to another issue before the movement fades out at its end. The second movement, marked Allegro molto – Moderato, adopts a more outgoing feeling, evoking a sense of motion, of being in a hurry. Not necessarily frantic, but certainly determined. A four-note theme emerges in the strings, until a clarinet solo, followed by a violin solo, wand then finally a cello taking the lead until the end of the movement. The third and longest movement, marked Adagio — Mosso, darts quietly, led by clarinet and cello, the music featuring a brooding melody as the strings take over. Toward the end, of the movement, the music becomes softer, almost ethereal, leading without pause into the final Andantino — Adagissimo movement as the clarinet changes the mood once again, playing above the strings, At about the five-minute mark, tension builds, than the clarinet takes a solo in its lower register, shifting the tone to become very brooding and inward-looking, the piece ending in the bass strings. Although the clarinet plays a significant role in proceedings, this truly is a chamber symphony, not a concerto by any means, but a truly moving and remarkable work.
Bonus Recommendation: So many recordings, so little time… As I state in my brief Classical Candor bio, I am a music lover who enjoys getting and giving recommendations of recordings. Because our focus is generally on newer releases, I thought it might be fun (at least for me) and interesting (perhaps, at least occasionally, for you) to pass along brief recommendations of CDs that are older, occasionally even out of print, but well worth a listen. These will not be full reviews, just recommendations with a snip of description and a snatch of commentary. I hope you find them to be useful, or entertaining, or at least not an utter waste of time. Here goes…
My first bonus recommendation is for a compilation of music by the remarkable Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937) titled Moments of Memory II (Naxos 8.573598). By the way, the album title is actually the title of one of the compositions, so don’t bother trying to find a CD titled Moments of Memory I. The performers include pianist Iryna Starodub and the Kiev Virtuosi under the direction of Dmitry Yablosnky. The half-dozen compositions are essentially gentle, soothing, almost dreamlike in character. At the same time, there is enough going on to intrigue the intellect and stimulate the imagination. In these troubled, turbulent times, this is music that can be a significant source of sonic succor.
KWN
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
Karl, I enjoyed this review. I immediately listened to the Weinberg Chamber Symphonies #3 and 4 on my Chandos SACD conducted by T. Svendlund with the Helsingborg Orchestra. It's been a while since I've heard it so I reread your review as I listened. Your comments were great. I appreciated the music better.
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