Mieczyslaw Weinberg

"Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-96) is a unique figure in Soviet music. A Jewish-Polish composer, he was born and raised in Warsaw, but fled to the Soviet Union following the outbreak of WWII. He left his family behind, never to see them again; they perished in the Holocaust. He found acceptance in the USSR and quickly made a name for himself as a composer, establishing a close friendship with none other than Dmitri Shostakovich. From 1942, Weinberg’s father-in-law was Solomon Mikhoels, director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater and chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee. Mikhoels’ state-sanctioned assassination in 1948 signalled another dark time for Weinberg, as a period of official anti-semitism began in the USSR. Weinberg’s family links to the 1952-3 ‘Doctor’s Plot’ lead to him being arrested and imprisoned for several months in 1953. As a result of such hardships, much of Weinberg’s music was commemorative in nature, culminating in his 1967-8 opera The Passenger. The opera is unique for directly dealing with the Holocaust, having much of its on-stage action set in Auschwitz itself.
In this paper, I explore how Weinberg sought to come to terms with such hardships through his music; how he dealt with his own exile, imprisonment and with the effects of the Holocaust in general, and how he maintained a touching and humanistic idiom throughout all of his works. In particular, I will be examining The Passenger, and the obstacles it presents for modern-day audiences."

Two cycles of Mieczysław Weinberg with the same title “Jewish Songs” (op. 13 and op. 17) were written in 1943 and 1944. In both works, Weinberg turned to Yiddish poetry, choosing poems by Itschok Leibush Perets
and Samuel Halkin. The first cycle was published twice during the composer’s lifetime, but in concert programs and on CD’s it sounded, mainly in Russian and was called “Children’s Songs.” The second cycle remained in the manuscript until recently. These cycles are also united by the composer’s use of the Adonoy Molokh modus, in which the prayers of Saturday and High Holidays are sung. Weinberg did not quote synagogal chants, but created new melodies under the same laws that gave rise to their numerous variants in Ashkenazic culture. His music “interprets” the lyrics, in some cases causing it to rethink. At the same time, the composer used techniques from European academic music and gave references to the music of the classics.

As attention on the music of Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996) has increased in the years after his death, so has the need for an analytical study of his musical style and language. This thesis surveys Weinberg’s changing style through a genre that spans almost his entire output: the string quartet. His close friendship and artistic affinity with Shostakovich helps make his music accessible to a wider audience, though closer examination reveals Weinberg’s individuality and a quite distinct language from that of his mentor. In support of this contention, a wide range of analytical approaches is deployed in this dissertation, along with a pragmatic methodology for presenting a holistic overview of Weinberg’s quartets.
Weinberg’s quartet cycle occupies an important place in twentieth-century music, with parallels to Shostakovich, Bartók, and other Soviet composers, including Myaskovsky, Shebalin, Levitin, and Boris Chaykovsky; correspondences and distinctiveness are explored in the second chapter. The third chapter surveys Weinberg’s musical narratives, with recourse to theories from Kofi Agawu, Boris Asafiev, and Jacques Derrida. Form is the focus of the fourth chapter, where ideas from Mark Aranovsky, and James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy are deployed to highlight Weinberg’s problematising of traditional forms in his music. Chapter five explores Weinberg’s multi-faceted approach to harmony, with concepts expanded from Lev Mazel, Yury Kholopov, and the neo-Riemannian school of analysis.
The picture that emerges is of Weinberg’s individuality and distinctive voice, manifested in a controlled experimentalism and a tendency towards extended lyricism. His affinity with better-known composers may prove an approachable entry-point for wider audiences, but many of the most striking elements in his quartet cycle are of his own invention. His quartets stand as an important contextual dimension for understanding Shostakovich’s cycle, and also for appreciating the broader repertoire of Soviet chamber music. As his centenary approaches, engagement with Weinberg’s music continues to increase: this thesis provides contexts and analysis-based conclusions to complement this ongoing revival.

Composer Mieczysław Weinberg (1919–1996) was a Polish Jew who emigrated to Soviet Russia in an effort to escape Nazi aggression during World War II. Also known as Moisei Samuilovich Vainberg, he became a close friend and colleague of the famous Soviet composer Dimitri Shostakovich. His prolific compositional output includes four works for flute soloist: Twelve Miniatures (1945), Five Pieces (1947), Flute Concerto No. 1, Op. 75 (1961), and Flute Concerto No. 2, Op. 148 (1987). The two flute concerti were written for and dedicated to the famous Russian flutist Alexander Korneyev (1930–2010). These four works for flute are experiencing a resurgence in interest in recent years as Weinberg’s music becomes more well-known. This document examines how these pieces fit into Weinberg’s compositional canon and how they were influenced by flute playing in the Soviet Union at the time. It analyzes the works from a theoretical perspective, explores why they have been so seldom played, and assesses how they fit into the modern flute repertoire. This document also examines the Russian school of flute playing, focusing on the Moscow Conservatory, where Korneyev both studied and taught. The Russian school is then compared to American and French traditions. The purpose of this document is to illuminate the contributions of Weinberg and Korneyev, and to introduce this literature to new audiences.

Weinberg’s background is unique among Soviet composers; he fled eastwards from Poland in 1939 and was
accepted into the USSR. He established a successful career, working with the most prominent Jewish musicians
of his day and praised as ‘the leading Soviet-Jewish composer’. Having narrowly escaped Nazi Germany,
Weinberg fell victim to Stalinist anti-semitism and was imprisoned for several months in 1953. Upon his release,
he made it his life’s mission to commemorate those who had fallen victim to atrocities.
Jewish themes in Weinberg’s music serve a dual purpose; to commemorate victims of the Holocaust, including
his parents and sister, and to reassert his Jewish heritage, despite his diaspora to a less-than-hospitable climate.
An internal struggle can be traced across his music, to reconcile between the need to celebrate his heritage as
well as to celebrate the USSR as his ‘saviours’ from the Nazis. In this paper, I explore the experience of Jewish
composers in the Soviet Union through Weinberg’s case study. I also outline Weinberg’s commemorative works
including, most controversial of all, his opera The Passenger. The opera is provocative, not least because the onstage
action is set in Auschwitz itself. This provides fresh challenges for modern-day audiences and critics alike.
The Passenger also calls into question the appropriateness of commemoration through depiction, alongside
Weinberg’s struggle to represent his displacement through music.

The many instances of composers revising their previous works later on in life raise questions of authenticity, intervention and intention, as well as sheer craft. Such delicate topics may be difficult to approach, especially when there is little or no documentation of motivation, as in the case of Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-96), a Polish-Jewish composer who lived and worked for most of his life in Moscow and whose posthumous reputation has dramatically advanced. Towards the end of his life, Weinberg revised many of his early works, especially his string quartets, in some cases making corrections and minor amendments, in others making substantial revisions, adding movements, and even rescoring for different forces. The significance of such revisions is vital to an understanding of Weinberg’s development as a composer, not least because many of his earliest works are now known to us only in their later manifestations. In this paper, I shall give examples of Weinberg’s revisions and explore the wide-reaching questions they raise.

An introduction to current research on the life and work of Mieczysław Weinberg, with biographical overview, bibliography, recommended listening, and further figures of interest, including Margarita Kuss, Yuri Levitin, and Boris Chaykovsky.

Published in the DSCH journal, No. 44, January 2016.

Mieczysław Weinberg left his family behind and fled his native Poland in September 1939. He reached the Soviet Union, where he become one of the most celebrated composers. He counted Shostakovich among his close friends and produced a prolific output of works. Yet he remained mindful of the nation that he had left. This book examines how Weinberg's works written in Soviet Russia compare with those of his Polish contemporaries; how one composer split from his national tradition and how he created a style that embraced the music of a new homeland, while those composers in his native land surged ahead in a more experimental vein. The points of contact between them are enlightening for both sides. This study provides an overview of Weinberg's music through his string quartets, analysing them alongside Polish composers. Composers featured include Bacewicz, Meyer, Lutosławski, Panufnik, Penderecki, Górecki, and a younger generation, including Szymański and Knapik.

Music behind the Iron Curtain: Weinberg and his Polish Contemporaries, available from Cambridge University Press, October 2019.

https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/music/twentieth-century-and-contemporary-music/music-behind-iron-curtain-weinberg-and-his-polish-contemporaries?format=HB

Opera “The Passenger” by Mieczysław Weinberg is regarded as the composer’s central work, an outstanding work due to its theme and the incredible relevance. Both his fellow composers and the leading national
musicologists came to these conclusions, when the opera was frst submitted to the USSR Union of Composers for consideration. However, the opera’s staging became uncertain right after its composition, and “The Passenger” did not premiere, neither at the Bolshoi Theatre that commissioned its composition, nor at any other theatre, until 2006.
Whose fault was that? New archive materials that are to be presented in this paper can help to shed the light on the possible reasons for Soviet theatres to neglect the opera. They refer to the history of the opera’s
composition and unveil the initial plans of the Bolshoi Theatre to stage it. Besides the archive data, the paper will examine changes in the (cultural) politics of the USSR at the end of 1960s as well as its contemporary
historical narrative referring to the Second World War events.

This article explores instances of mutual influence in the string quartets of Weinberg and of Shostakovich. While Shostakovich's influence on Weinberg is apparent on first listen, the reverse process is more subtle - and is particularly apparent in some of Shostakovich's earlier quartets. After several examples, the case of Weinberg and Shostakovich is explored in the context of theories of influence itself - especially Harold Bloom's The Anxiety of Influence. I conclude that Weinberg and Shostakovich's relationship of mutual influence is a rather unique one in the history of music.

As attention on the music of Mieczys?aw Weinberg (1919-1996) has increased in the years after his death, so has the need for an analytical study of his musical style and language. This thesis surveys Weinberg?s changing style through a genre that spans almost his entire output: the string quartet. His close friendship and artistic affinity with Shostakovich helps make his music accessible to a wider audience, though closer examination reveals Weinberg?s individuality and a quite distinct language from that of his mentor. In support of this contention, a wide range of analytical approaches is deployed in this dissertation, along with a pragmatic methodology for presenting a holistic overview of Weinberg?s quartets. Weinberg?s quartet cycle occupies an important place in twentieth-century music, with parallels to Shostakovich, Bart�k, and other Soviet composers, including Myaskovsky, Shebalin, Levitin, and Boris Chaykovsky; correspondences and distinctiveness are explored in the secon...

"Harold Bloom’s theories of influence in poetry are well known and many scholars have sought to apply them to wider fields of art. His aggressive vision of artistic influence has new authors ‘appropriate’ their predecessors’ works leading to an Oedipal elimination of the father-figure of influence. Bloom’s theories have proved highly significant in musicology, but also problematic.
This paper seeks to give a brief overview of Bloom’s writings and move to a review of Musicologists’ attempts to utilise his theories as set out in the book The Anxiety of Influence. It becomes apparent these cannot be easily adapted to music since they perpetuate the contested concept of ‘originality as progress’. I seek to demonstrate this with short case studies of friendships between composers that cannot be easily moulded to fit alongside Bloom’s aggressive writings. With these, I suggest a new template of musical influence, utilising thoughts from T.S. Eliot, Benjamin Britten and several others authors simultaneously calling for a reassessment of this complex issue from the perspective of musicology."

This article explores instances of mutual influence in the string quartets of Weinberg and of Shostakovich. While Shostakovich's influence on Weinberg is apparent on first listen, the reverse process is more subtle - and is particularly apparent in some of Shostakovich's earlier quartets. After several examples, the case of Weinberg and Shostakovich is explored in the context of theories of influence itself - especially Harold Bloom's The Anxiety of Influence. I conclude that Weinberg and Shostakovich's relationship of mutual influence is a rather unique one in the history of music.