Mieczysław Weinberg: Complete Violin Sonatas, Volume Two
Mieczysław Weinberg, born in Warsaw in 1919, became a close friend of Shostakovich in Moscow, after fleeing eastwards before the invading Nazis in 1939. His style has much in common with Shostakovich, as these four violin works show: fluent contrapuntal skill, a keen feeling for melody, often inflected with Jewish cantilena, and an acute sense of drama which combines a natural narrative manner with an extraordinary ability to create atmosphere, often from just a handful of notes. Since his death in 1996, his music has increasingly been recognised as some of the finest by any twentieth-century composer.
Yuri Kalnits, violin
Michael Csányi-Wills, piano
Listen To This Recording:
- Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes, Op. 47, No. 3 (1949)
- I Allegro
- II Lento –
- III Allegro moderato
- I Monody –
- II Rests –
- III Intervals –
- IV Repliques –
- V Accompaniment –
- VI Invocation –
- VII Syncopations
- I Andante con moto
- II Allegro molto
- III Allegro moderato
- IV Allegro – Andante – Allegretto – Andante
Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, Op. 15 (1944)
Sonata No. 2 for Violin Solo, Op. 95 (1967)
Sonata No. 5 for Violin and Piano, Op. 53 (1953)
Lines That Have Escaped Destruction :
‘On first impressions, the disc is attractively packaged and after several listens, I am more than convinced that this series is the one to opt for when it comes to Weinberg’s violin works…Overall, this disc represent a fantastic continuation of the series, with the partnership of Kalnits and Csányi-Wills continuing onto new heights. Comes highly recommended.’
—Daniel Elphic, Lines That Have Escaped Destruction
Classical-Modern Music Review :
‘…Yuri Kalnits takes on the violin parts, Michael Csanyi-Wills those for the piano. They are singingly appropriate, well-prepared and idiomatically near-perfect in their readings of the works. They can go with ease from the folk-Jewish aspects to the contemporary Russian expressionism that channels Prokofiev and Shostakovitch with what is assuredly a Weinberg originality.’
—Grego Applegate Edwards, Classical-Modern Music Review
MusicWeb International :
‘One of my greatest joys these last two years has been the discovery of the music of Mieczysław Weinberg. …Anyone who rates Shostakovich as I do as one of the supreme artists of the twentieth century but doesn’t yet know Weinberg will think they’ve died and gone to music heaven once they get to know him. …It is becoming quite clear that he was one of the great composers of the twentieth century alongside Shostakovich, his friend and mentor. The works on this disc are played with both skill and an obvious love and understanding of the material by the two musicians. The volume one disc of theirs is equally praiseworthy…’
—Steve Arloff, MusicWeb International
Fanfare Magazine :
‘…What excellent music this is! Kalnits is a good violinist with strong emotion and wonderful empathy for this material… Csányi-Wills is a fine, sensitive accompanist. Together they make a strong case for most of this music becoming part of the standard repertoire.’
—Lynn René Bayley, Fanfare Magazine
The Strad :
‘…Weinberg’s highly personal voice emerges more clearly in the Fifth Sonata… Kalnits’s sensitive handling of each haunting change of mood is particularly striking here, his gently cushioned staccato capturing the music’s underlying cantabile espressivo with captivating aplomb. Most memorable of all is the op.95 Solo Violin Sonata of 1967, which Kalnits brings stunningly to life via a dazzling range of expressive nuances and articulation, captured in first-rate sound.’
—Julian Haylock, The Strad
Gramophone :
‘…The terseness of the cultural references in all the works here is brought out with honest intensity by the Moscow-born violinist Yury Kalnits and British pianist Michael Csányi-Wills, whose performance is very much one of musicians who carry the music in their blood. …over the course of the disc there is interpretation of this music that feels absolutely complete in its authenticity – it is entirely possible to hear the love and affection Kalnits in particular feels for the music.’
—Caroline Gill, Gramophone
MusicWeb International :
‘…Yuri Kalnits and Michael Csányi-Wills perform these works with great attention to detail and a genuine understanding of the place of each in Weinberg’s career. One could not exceed the commitment of Kalnits and Csányi-Wills.’
—William Kreindler, MusicWeb International
American Record Guide :
‘…Shostakovich’s influence is obvious in all of the works collected here, and all of them are very fine and enjoyable. …The Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes from 1949 is a very accomplished work with irresistible tunes. The Violin Sonata 2, from 1944, is a remarkably mature-sounding work with a triumphal mood. …The seven-movement Sonata 2 for Solo Violin, from 1967, obviously comes from a different world. It is more acerbic and dissonant, with a somewhat sardonic tone like what one finds in much of Shostakovich’s music. Violin Sonata 5, from 1953, doesn’t have the exuberance of Sonata 2 but is more somber and reflective in I. …It reminds me a bit of Prokofieff’s Violin Sonata 1. This Sonata is an excellent work that deserves more exposure.’
—Joseph Magil, American Record Guide
Diapason :
‘Au-delà de la virtuosité – quel violon, encore! –, la complicité musicale du duo y fait également merveille . Vite, la suite!’
—Nicolas Derny, Diapason, August 2014