Weinberg
Cello Concertino*; Violin Concertino**; Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes; Symphony No. 7
*Wen-Sinn Yang (cello), **Tassilo Probst (violin); Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich/Daniel Grossman
Onyx ONYX4237 78:34 mins
The eloquent opening and closing passages of Weinberg’s recently discovered Cello Concertino of 1948 project a deep sense of loneliness and suffering that may well be related to Weinberg’s precarious situation in the Soviet Union at that time, when a campaign of anti-Semitism was on the rise. Although Wenn-Sing Yang gives an impassioned account of the solo cello part, he doesn’t project the melodic line with quite the same degree of subtlety and nuance as Pieter Wispelwey (Evil Penguin). The Jewish Chamber Orchestra’s accompaniment could be more blended in the slower sections. At the same time, the raw folk-like execution of the klezmer rhythms in the second movement have a tangy authenticity on the present release.
The Violin Concertino is a more wistful work, but darker resonances are never far from the surface. Tassilo Probst’s warmly lyrical and intimate sound is well suited to its overall character. He wipes away the underlying sorrow in the Finale with some brilliant daredevil passagework, and negotiates the technical fireworks of the Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes.
In contrast, the Seventh Symphony is emotionally elusive. A prominent role is given to a solo harpsichord whose neo-Baroque interpolations in the outer movements are perhaps designed to sound deliberately out of step with the darkly contrapuntal string writing that colours the rest of the work. Daniel Grossman and the Jewish Chamber Orchestra have the measure of its complexities and deliver a committed performance. Erik Levi
