Jacob Weinberg, a native of the
Ukraine, was brought up in a musically
congenial and encouraging family. He
studied at Moscow conservatory and later
with Theodore Leschetizky in Vienna.
He was a member of Moscow section of
the Society for Jewish Folk Music -
a pioneering organisation of Jewish
composers, performers, folklorists,
and other intellectuals who nurtured
a new, authentic Jewish national art
music in the early decades of the 20th
century.
From 1921 to 1926 he
spent time in Palestine where oriental,
Jewish and Arabic musical idioms crossed
his field of vision as did a burning
Zionist conviction centred on aspirations
for a new Jewish homeland. Weinberg
went to the United States in 1926 where
he was associated with prominent Jewish
musicians. There he taught at Hunter
College and the New York College of
Music. Although his music includes a
substantial amount of specifically Jewish
pieces he also wrote various American
flag-wavers.
Weinberg’s Piano
Concerto No. 2 in C Major is a flamboyant
late-romantic piano concerto. It follows
the tracks of the Rachmaninov concertos
and a contemporary work, Moeran’s Rhapsody
No. 3. The Jewish ethnic influence is
there but it is a gentle inflection
- as at 8.39. The first movement ends
in Technicolor brilliance while the
second includes a fanciful and delicate
little dance. In that sense it is not
unlike Nights in the Gardens of Spain
but with a Sephardic accent. The finale
returns to Rachmaninov territory. The
performance is completely committed
and the only downside is that the strings
sound a little undernourished. This
will certainly appeal to followers of
Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concerto series.
If you enjoy this Weinberg concerto
you should also catch up with the Bortkiewicz
concertos on Hyperion and the one by
Issay Dobrowen on Simax.
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2002/Oct02/Arensky_Bortkiewicz.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/May05/Dobrowen_PSC1246.htm
Weinberg’s String
Quartet has a middle movement of
considerable inwardness and two outer
movements that are not merely ripely
romantic but bursting with ardent intensity.
The last movement has an abruptly declamatory
tone which reminded me of Shostakovich.
The Shabbat Ba’aretz
will appeal to anyone who enjoys
the choral works of George Dyson. I
could not take to the cantorial voice
of Patrick Mason which wobbles alarmingly.
On the other hand Mason infuses every
word with conviction. As a spiritual
experience I don’t doubt the intensity
but in any other capacity a more securely-toned
voice would have helped. The choral
singing is unbridled and in tr10
L'kha adonai Weinberg seems to draw
on the traditions of Walton and Hadley.
A typical conspectus
this collection conveys diffuse variety
yet succeeds for Weinberg through the
romantic ardour of his concerto and
quartet.
Rob Barnett
Patrick Mason, baritone; Christopher Bowers-Broadbent,
organ 
