Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s (Vainberg’s) Fourth Symphony was admired by Shostakovich, as was the composer generally. Indeed, it seems that Shostakovich regarded Weinberg as his only serious rival after the death of Prokofiev, and with reason. The two composers have much in common in terms of both style and general emotional ambience, but there are differences as well. Weinberg’s quick music has a comparatively light, scherzando quality produced by driving tempos, rapid string ostinatos, and (where applicable) soloistic treatment of woodwinds and brass. This, combined with a certain dryness of harmony and thematic material, as well as buoyant rhythms, gives the impression of Shostakovich’s intensity of utterance mixed with touches of neoclassical Hindemith, or even Stravinsky. It’s certainly a personal recipe, and while the music’s somewhat gaunt exterior doesn’t seem designed to win it friends on superficial acquaintance, it will grow on you given sufficient time.
The Fourth Symphony has two frenetic outer movements enfolding two wistful, bittersweet inner ones. It lasts about half an hour, from its grimly driving opening toccata to a high-spirited conclusion. The Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes is exactly what you might expect from the title, an attractive selection of folk melodies a bit similar to Kodály’s Dances of Galanta, and every bit as skillfully arranged and scored. Without question Weinberg was a master craftsman, one of the qualities that Shostakovich valued in him, although in the Second Sinfonietta (for strings and timpani) it sometimes sounds as though craft has overwhelmed inspiration. The piece is certainly well-written, and unconventionally structured, with a slow and only intermittently expressive finale that I found disappointingly deadpan. The performances, though, are certainly idiomatically played and very well recorded–full of energy, with the difficult trumpet and woodwind solos in the symphony confidently projected. If you’re interested in Shostakovich and his better contemporaries, then you should hear this.
