Vainberg is an extremely subtle and delicate composer: the music breathes a warmth that is seldom found in contemporary classical music. Yet upon hearing Vainberg's works one is startled by their intrinsic power. The composer was a very modest person, and because of this he has remained unknown and in the shadow of others, even though his music is no less great. As Robert R. Reilly writes, Vainberg wrote "incomparable orchestral music" [1], and while many other composers like Haydn, Beethoven, Mahler, Prokofiev and Shostakovich have created extraordinary symphonies, only Messiaen's orchestral works are on the same level as Vainberg's symphonies in terms of sheer beauty, power and intensity. Vainberg's string quartets are another example of the originality and beauty of his music; Robert R. Reilly writes about them: "There is only one quartet cycle that comes close to Vainberg's accomplishments in this genre, and that is Shostakovitch's" [1]. Harmonically and rhythmically complex, the quartets mix tender, plaintive lyricism and Jewish themes with stark, contrasting dissonances, firmly placing Vainberg as one of the best composers of 20th/21st century contemporary classical music.

  There is a remarkable and fascinating progression in Vainberg's music from his early Op. 5 and 8 piano sonatas, to his last Op. 153 chamber symphony, written over 50 years later. The sonata from Op.5 is more experimental in style, with more influences, and while being rich in texture, is by no means dense. Even so, one can hear some of Vainberg's later ideas appearing: suffering, love, faith. These ideas are already fully developed in the extraordinary chamber symphony 4 (Op. 153) - a highly original and powerful work, which somehow seems to be compacted and compressed to incredible density - all while still retaining an elegance and grace which can perhaps only be found in Mozart. This is rare indeed, even more so for the high level of abstraction present in the work. It seems to be geometrically structured, giving rise to images of luminously coloured forms. The ideas flow in an unending stream, and sometimes one feels as though they levitate. Indeed, Vainberg's music is often mystical, and like Messiaen's music, is imbued with a love for God.

  Nowhere else can such profound music be found as Vainberg's. This is so not only because of the depth of the ideas expressed, in themselves perennial, but due its tremendous edifying quality. Vainberg's music uplifts and gives rise to beautiful thoughts and feelings. In his life, Vainberg was able to overcome many challenges, and yet all the time he was above his unfavourable conditions. Man is in this world to suffer and to learn, but suffering has different effects on different people: some become embittered, others are ennobled. Vainberg was resurrected from his sufferings and in this way he used them to create music that was greater than all suffering, a music which contains a light that goes beyond all restrictions and challenges. It glorifies the name of God, and transcends everything temporal. Thus Vainberg's life also attests that his music is nothing less than sublime: it is music that everyone should hear, because music can and does change the world.

Descriptions and Comments on Selected Works:

(Last modified: 10 Apr 2004)

These brief descriptions are an extension of the article, and in this sense, are a continuation of it.

Solo cello sonatas 1 - 4 (Opp. 72, 86, 106, 140)

These works are contrapuntally complex, with vivid contrasts of high and low tones, as if recreating all the variations of several colours. The tones seem to refract through a prism to create a myriad of geometrical forms, all with darker and lighter parts. Every single sonata is undoubtedly a masterpiece, and they stand equal with the solo cello suites of Bach and Reger as the greatest cello music ever written.

Chamber symphony 2 (Op. 147)

An extremely powerful symphony, and (so far recorded) one of Vainberg's most intense, especially the first movement. The allegro molto propels the whole orchestra forward, with bright, bold colours, after which the second movement takes up, and so to speak diffuses them, by using both Russian and Jewish motifs. The third movement is a variation in message of the first, contemplative, yet majestic and poignant, turning more and more towards silence and solitude in the end, the majesty and dynamics of the first movement slowly fading away into the distance, ending finally with an abrupt splash of colour. Like Chamber symphony 4, it is fairly dense (mainly the first movement), but cast in a more traditional form.

String quartets 7 - 9 (Opp. 59, 66, 80)

In one of the finest examples of a label's dedication to an unknown composer, Olympia has released Volume 17 in its traversal of the works of Mieczyslaw Vainberg (1919-1996) [...] This CD contains Vainberg's Quartets Nos. 7, 8, and 9. There is only one quartet cycle that comes close to Vainberg's accomplishments in this genre, and that is Shostakovitch's. If you think that is an exaggeration, Shostakovitch did not. He regarded Vainberg as his peer and playfully alluded to a "race" that he and Vainberg were running to see who could write the most quartets. If you admire Shostakovitch's quartets, these are works you should also explore since they are very similar in language to his and are beautifully played by the Dominant Quartet. Then turn to some of the incomparable orchestral music in the other volumes in this great series (with guidance from my February 2000 column about this neglected maestro [included in the Biography 1 part of these pages]).

From [1] Crisis Magazine Jan 2002, Music: No End of Odds and Ends, Robert R. Reilly
(http://www.crisismagazine.com/january2002/music.htm)

These three quartets, written between 1957 and 1964, are all the proof you could ask for, if proof you still require, of the individuality and depth of Weinberg's genius...

From March/April 2001 issue of the Fanfare, USA Magazine, Martin Anderson, Obtained from:
(http://www.newmusicon.org/v9n1/v91cds.htm)

Piano sonatas 1, 2 (Opp. 5, 8)

These are amongst Vainberg's earliest works. They show some influence from Prokofiev, mainly in the second movement of the first sonata. Nevertheless, a very distinct and personal voice can quite easily be heard; even though at points the style resembles that of Prokofiev, there is none of the humour, and when one listen's closely, the mood is in fact quite serious. Finally, when one abstracts away from the exterior similarities in style, the sonatas reveal a very unique message. It is in these two sonatas that one can begin to see one of Vainberg's most powerful messages: that of suffering with Love.

Though perhaps not apparent immediately, obvious even in these early works is Vainberg's original and idiosyncratic polyphony. It can be seen in the early Op. 5 sonata, most vividly in the third movement. This complex polyphony is present in all of Vainberg's works, even in his last chamber symphonies.

Even with some influences, these sonatas are still amongst some of the most moving modern piano works of the 20th century, deserving (along with the other piano sonatas (see below)) to be named amongst the piano works of Scriabin, Prokofiev and Messiaen.

Piano sonatas 3 - 6 (Opp. 31, 56, 58, 73)

These are Vainberg's more mature piano sonatas.The third and fourth sound as though they were conceived for a string quartet. This is especially so in the first movement of the third sonata, and the last movement of the fourth sonata. One can say that 3rd and 4th sonatas are geometrically structured, though not as much as the two later sonatas. They show a balance between suffering and joy, tranquility and turmoil. The slow movements of both sonatas speak of solitude and faith in God.

The fifth and sixth sonatas are written in a very individual style, and I would call them supermatist. The strict geometrical structure is most easily seen in the first movements of the both the fifth and sixth sonatas. Tones seem to become like different sized squares, and are overlayed by smaller forms in a multitude of layers, emanating out in space and time.

Symphony 10 (Op. 98)

This is perhaps one of Vainberg's best symphonies. The skill with which it is constructed is exquisite: from the beginning series of parallel chords - the impression of which is a monolithic cathedral, but abstract - to the layered counterpoint of the 4th movement, the whole symphony is a concentrated, polyphonic cosmos of red and gold colours. The effect is not only breathtaking, but at moments one feels as though the music is breaking the barriers of space, and filling every point of space at the same time - in a sense transcending to what Plotinus describes as Eternity: "the announcement of the Identity in the Divine".
Vainberg's 10th Symphony is surely one of the greatest symphonies of the 20th century, standing solidly next to Rautavaara's 7th Symphony "Angel of Light", and Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony.

24 Solo Cello Preludes (Op. 100)

Below is an image of a painting by the Australian artist Anelia Pavlova, which has been created on/using Vainberg's Preludes for Solo Cello:

Symphony 19, Chamber Symphony 3 (Opp. 142, 151)

Below is another image of a painting by the Australian artist Anelia Pavlova, which has been created on/using Vainberg's Symphony 19 and Chamber Symphony 3:

Musical Scores:

Per Skans, who is making a biography of Weinberg (Vainberg), has made me aware that a the large music publishing house PeerMusic will be printing 27 of Weinberg's works within a couple of years, as of 2003. They are starting with String Quartet No. 16 and the Piano Quintet in Feb 2003. The official page is here:
[Link]   (the complete list of scores that will be printed is in the "Works" section).

  For more information or any queries please contact:
  Ulrike zur Nieden, Public Relations (PeerMusic Classical),
  Tel.:  ++49/40/278379-19
  Fax:  ++49/40/278379-40
  e-mail: uzurnieden@peermusic.com

Another publishing house that offers selected scores from Weinberg is Edition Sikorski, however, it looks as though they can only be borrowed:
[Link]

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