Weinberg Analysis

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Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School
2019
Mieczysław Weinberg: Concerto for Cello

and Orchestra, and 24 Preludes for Solo
Cello
Aleksandra Pereverzeva
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG: CONCERTO FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA,
AND 24 PRELUDES FOR SOLO CELLO
By
ALEKSANDRA PEREVERZEVA
A Treatise submitted to the

College of Music
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Music
2019
Aleksandra Pereverzeva defended this treatise on April 19, 2019
The members of the supervisory committee were:
Gregory Sauer
Professor Directing Treatise
Charles E. Brewer
University Representative
Alexander Jiménez
Committee Member
Melanie Punter
Committee Member
The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and
certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my professor Gregory Sauer for his mentoring, guidance and help with all
my work at FSU. Also, I want to give many thanks to my committee members: Alexander
Jiménez, Melanie Punter, and Charles E. Brewer. In addition, I wish to extend a special thank
you to my editor and writing coach, Amy L. Bradley.
I also want to thank my mother, who never stops believing in me, without her moral support I
would not be able to complete my degree.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Music Examples ..................................................................................................................v

Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... vii
1. BIOGRAPHY AND MUSIC OF MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG ..............................................1
2. CELLO CONCERTO ...............................................................................................................10
3. 24 PRELUDES FOR SOLO CELLO ........................................................................................23
4. CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................................38
References ......................................................................................................................................40
Biographical Sketch .......................................................................................................................43
iv
LIST OF MUSIC EXAMPLES
Example 2.1. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 1-9. ..........................................11
Example 2.2. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 59-62. ......................................12
Example 2.3. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, second movement, mm. 1-14. ....................................13
Example 2.4. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, second movement, mm. 27-31. ..................................14
Example 2.5. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 1-7. .........................................15
Example 2.6. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 8-20. .......................................15
Example 2.7. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 45-56. .....................................16
Example 2.8. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 91-96. .....................................16
Example 2.9. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 245-263. .................................17
Example 2.10. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 315-327. ...............................17
Example 2.11. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, cadenza, mm. 482-497. ............................................18
Example 2.12. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, fourth movement mm. 1-10. ....................................19
Example 2.13. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, fourth movement, mm. 44-53. .................................20
Example 2.14. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, fourth movement, mm. 75-78 ..................................20
Example 3.1. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 1, mm. 1-16..........................24
Example 3.2. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 3, mm. 1-4............................24
Example 3.3. R. Schumann Cello Concerto, first movement, mm 1-14........................................25
Example 3.5. J. S. Bach Gavotte I from Suite for Solo Cello No. 6, mm. 1-11 ............................26
Example 3.7. J.S. Bach Gavotte II from Suite for Solo Cello No. 6, mm. 16-20 ..........................27
Example 3.8. Z. Kodaly Sonata for Solo Cello, third movement, mm. 73-86...............................28
v
Example 3.9. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 13, mm.12-13.......................29
Example 3.10. G. Ligeti Sonata for Solo Cello. Dialogo, mm. 1-5 ...............................................29
Example 3.11. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 13, mm. 14-19....................29
Example 3.12. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 15, mm. 1-8........................30
Example 3.13. J. S. Bach Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 2, mm. 1-15.........................32
Example 3.14. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 18, mm. 1-10......................32
Example 3.15. D. Shostakovich Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 1-7 ..................................34
Example 3.16. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 21, mm. 1-6........................34
Example 3.17. D. Shostakovich Sonata for cello and piano, fourth movement, mm.17-23 ..........34
Example 3.18. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 21, mm. 8-13......................34
Example 3.19. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 23, opening. .......................35
Example 3.20. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 23, closing..........................35
vi
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this treatise is to introduce the music of the Soviet composer of Polish-
Jewish origin, Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996) to a wide audience. Weinberg’s life took place
during the very difficult period following World War I through the second world war. Not only
did he feel the terrible consequences of the Nazi efforts to exterminate Jews, but he also
experienced the terrors associated with being an artist in the Soviet Union under Stalin.
Weinberg’s music reflects its historical context and the tragic events that impacted his own life
and the lives of so many others. This is one reason his compositions are important and valuable.
He also had a close friendship with Dmitry Shostakovich, and they inspired one another’s
creative work in many ways.
Weinberg’s music reflects a diversity of genres and styles. In addition to the large-scale
works dedicated to the heavy themes of war, fascism, and death, he also wrote music for movies,
cartoons, circuses, and children. Like Weinberg’s life, his music had a difficult fate, as it was
obscured for many years. Fortunately, Weinberg’s music has gained increased attention in recent
years, especially in Europe. There have been several festivals dedicated to his work held in
Liverpool (UK), Rochester (USA), Bregenze (Switzerland), and Moscow (Russia). Recordings
of his compositions have been released by large record labels, including “Olympia” (UK), and
"Russkiy disk” (Russia). The Danel String Quartet, a Belgian group, recently made a recording
of all seventeen quartets written by Weinberg. Several renowned conductors have contributed to
the promotion of Weinberg’s music, including Thomas Sanderling, the co-initiator of the
International Mieczysław Weinberg Society, and Thord Svedlund.
This treatise provides information about the composer’s life, an overview of his work, and a
style analyses of his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Op. 43 (1948) and his 24 Preludes for
Solo Cello (1960). The Concerto and the Preludes are historically significant and musically
engaging additions to the standard cello repertoire. The Concerto consists of four contrasting and
highly expressive movements with different characters and moods—lyrical, dramatic, powerful,
sorrowful, and triumphant. The diversity in the work, in its melodic features and dramatic
qualities, make it accessible to a wide range of audiences. The 24 Preludes is a challenging work
that features technical variety and extended techniques. In this collection we see Weinberg
demonstrating his musical experience, knowledge, and creativity. Practice suggestions for the
Concerto and the Preludes are provided at the end of their respective chapters.
vii
CHAPTER 1
BIOGRAPHY AND MUSIC OF MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG
"This music is written with the blood of the heart. It is bright and visible, there is
not a single "empty" note in it. Everything is lived through and comprehended by the composer,
everything is expressed truthfully, passionately. I take it as a hymn to a man, the anthem of
international solidarity of people against the most terrible evil in the world—fascism.”1
- Shostakovich on Weinberg’s opera The Passenger
Biography
Mieczysław Weinberg (1919 – 1996) lived an interesting and challenging life infused
with many tragic events.2 He was the only one in his family who managed to escape the Nazis.
He lived in a few different places – Warsaw, Minsk, Tashkent, Moscow, and each place made a
significant impact on his life and his composition style.
Warsaw
Weinberg was born 8 December 1919 in Warsaw to the conductor, composer, and
violinist Shmuel Weinberg (1883-1943) and the actress Sonja Karl Weinberg (1888-1943). His
parents’ involvement in the arts provided Weinberg the opportunity to become a musician. His
father worked as a director and a conductor of the orchestra in the Jewish theater in Warsaw
called "Skala", where from the age of ten, Mieczysław played the piano in the orchestra.
Accompanying his father at rehearsals, performances and in recording sessions, Mieczysław was
exposed to the traditional Jewish melodies, which he would later incorporate into many of his
works.3
Weinberg’s dream was to be a successful touring pianist. In 1931, at the age of 12,
Mieczysław was accepted into the Warsaw conservatory where he studied piano with one of the
1
Dmitry Shostakovich on Weinberg's opera The Passenger, which was dedicated to a post-war meeting between a
former concentration camp prisoner and a former female guard. https://news.jeps.ru/kultura/mechislav-vajnberg-
mariinskij-teatr-konczert-v-spb.html
2
Lyudmila Nikitina, “Weinberg [Vaynberg], Moisey [Mieczysław] Samuilovich,” Grove Music Online
3
https://www.epochtimes.ru/content/view/31759/73/
1
most renowned professors at that time in Poland, Józef Turczyński.4 At that time he also worked
as a pianist in a jazz ensemble that played Jewish music. In 1939 he was invited to Philadelphia,
USA, to study piano with the Polish-American composer Josef Hofmann but, due to the start of
World War II, he had to turn down this opportunity.
On the night of September 6, 1939 Weinberg was playing piano in a jazz ensemble in one
of the Jewish ghettos of Warsaw while order was given on a radio that the German army had
entered into Warsaw. The next morning Mieczysław’s parents sent him and his younger sister
Esther to Minsk on foot. 5 Unfortunately, along the way Ester’s shoe broke and she had to return
home. Mieczysław kept going. 6 He did not realize then that it would be the last time he saw his
little sister. Several years later he learned that his family was deported to the Łódź ghetto and
then to the concentration camp “Travniki” where they were killed along with thousands of others
in 1943.7 The feelings of sorrow and anger never left Weinberg. He dedicated several works to
his family, including the String Quartet No. 2 (1944), which he dedicated to his mother and
sister, and the String Quartet No. 16 (1981), which he dedicated to his sister, who would have
turned 60 in that year.8 Weinberg embodied feelings of tragedy in many of his compositions,
including the Eighth Symphony, the Requiem, and the opera Passenger. In addition to the theme
of war, Weinberg’s oeuvre includes the theme of the death of children; for example, the
movements of his Sixth Symphony set various texts about the death of children.9
Minsk
In Minsk Weinberg studied composition with his first and only composition teacher
Vasily Zolotaryov, a Soviet composer, teacher, and People’s artist of Russia.10 Weinberg shared
4
During his time at the conservatory he also composed his first piece for piano, “Lullaby” (1935), and his first string
quartet (1937).
5
When Mieczysław reached the Soviet Union border one of the border guards who checked the documents changed
his name to Moisey because it sounded more Jewish.
6
Lyudmila Nikitina, “Every Moment of My Life – is work.” Muzïkalnaya Akademiya 1994, no. 5
7
From September 1941 to July 1944, until the end of the German occupation, the camp "Travniki," located 30 km
from the city Lublin, was used as a transit camp for Jews from the Polish ghettos and those ghettos that were in the
western part of the Soviet Union, on the way to the death camps.
8
Daniel, Elphick, Weinberg String Quartet No. 16, Op. 130 - Programme Note
http://linesthathaveescapeddestruction.blogspot.com/2015/03/weinberg-string-quartet-no-16-op-130.html
9
Lyudmila Nikitina, “Every Moment of My Life – is work.”
10
Zolotaryov studied with Rimsky-Korsakov at St. Petersburg Conservatory. After his graduation in 1900, he taught
at Moscow Conservatory (1909-1918), and then at Minsk Conservatory (1933-1941).
2
an apartment with the piano professor Alexei Klumov, who taught Weinberg to speak Russian
and took care of him when he was suffering from spinal tuberculosis. In 1940, Klumov
introduced Weinberg to the composer Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881-1950), who played a
significant role in his life; he mentored Weinberg and guided his compositional style. Despite the
age difference (Weinberg was 21 and Myaskovsky 59) the two composers became very good
friends, and everything Weinberg wrote he showed to Myaskovsky for approval. This friendship
helped Weinberg to develop as a better composer.11
It was also in 1940 when Weinberg first encountered the music of Dmitry Shostakovich.
While studying at the Conservatory he worked at the Philharmonic Society, which had a good
orchestra but lacked a harp and celesta. At the concerts Weinberg played the parts of these
instruments on the piano. One day the orchestra performed Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, and
that is when Weinberg became acquainted with his music. As Weinberg later recalled, “sitting in
the orchestra, playing piano, I was amazed by every phrase, every musical thought, as if
thousands of electric charges pierced me.”12
Weinberg graduated from the conservatory in June 1941. His graduation piece was
Symphonic Poem for a large orchestra.13 June 21, 1941, in the Minsk Philharmonic, was the first
time of his life when he heard his own composition performed, but unfortunately, he did not get
to enjoy that happy feeling for very long. The war reached the Soviet Union the next day.
Because of his illness Weinberg could not join the army so he went to Tashkent (now the capital
of Uzbekistan).
Tashkent
Just a few hours after Weinberg’s graduation concert, on June 22, 1941, the Nazis
attacked the Soviet Union. Weinberg was among the lucky musicians who managed to escape.
The majority of orchestra musicians who were Jewish and who did not evacuate during the first
11
Weinberg stated, “Everything that I wrote, I showed Myaskovsky. And I played a lot of his compositions at
various events in the Ministry of Culture.” Lyudmila Nikitina, “Every Moment of My Life – is work.”
12
Mieczyslaw Weinberg, “Pervaya Vstrecha s Muzikoi Shostakovicha,” Sovetskiy Kompozitor (1967), 84.
13
During his two years in Minsk Weinberg also wrote his Second String Quartet, the first of his six piano sonatas, a
song cycle “Acacia” on poems by Julian Tuwim, and three romances on poems by Alexander Prokofiev and Elena
Rivina.
3
few days, were killed.14 Weinberg caught a train from Minsk to Tashkent, the southern city of
the Soviet Union which during World War II was safe. Tashkent became home for more than
152,000 Jewish people.15 Soon after arriving Weinberg started working at the Tashkent Opera
Theatre as an accompanist and a composer.
In 1942, in Tashkent, Weinberg met his first wife, Natalya Vovsi-Mikhoels. Her father,
Solomon Mikhoels was a famous Jewish tragic actor, who also founded the Jewish Anti-Fascist
Committee. His mission was to travel around the world, meet Jewish communities and
encourage them to support the Soviet Union in the war against Nazis. Solomon helped Weinberg
establish a long-life friendship with Dmitry Shostakovich. He encouraged Weinberg to send the
score of his First Symphony to Shostakovich, who was extremely impressed by the work and
immediately invited Weinberg to Moscow. Since then, Weinberg lived and worked in Moscow,
two musicians bonded by a strong, sincere friendship.
Moscow
In 1943, Weinberg arrived in Moscow. By that time the German army had already
retreated from the Soviet Union and it was relatively safe to live there. The friendship between
Weinberg and Shostakovich was the dialogue of two colleagues, close in spirit, and at the same
time completely independent artists. They shared ideas and discussed new works. Shostakovich
considered Weinberg one of the most significant composers of his time. About Weinberg’s Sixth
Symphony Shostakovich said: "If I could I would to put my name under this symphony."16
Shostakovich not only appreciated Weinberg’s talent as a composer but also his abilities
as pianist. Weinberg premiered Shostakovich's new works for four hands many times with the
composer. In 1947 Shostakovich and Weinberg performed Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony.
After the preparation of the second edition of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, which was renamed
14
David Fanning, Mieczysław Weinberg: In search of Freedom (Hofheim: Wolke Verlag, 2010), 31.
15
https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Holocaust/0136_uzbek.html
16
Pavel A. Alexeev: Utselevshiy iz Warshavi: Moisey Wainberg – Vehi Zhizni I Tvorchestva (Moscow: Moscow
state academy of choreography) 2015, vol. 3, p-41-46.
4
Katerina Izmaylova, Shostakovich asked Weinberg to learn the piano score of the opera and play
in the Ministry of Culture, at the Union of Composers, which Weinberg did. 1718
The composers often borrowed musical ideas from each other. For example, Weinberg
quoted the themes from Shostakovich’s Sonata for Cello and Piano (1934) and the opening
motive from his Cello Concerto (1959) in his 24 Preludes for Solo Cello (1960). Shostakovich
also borrowed motives from Weinberg’s music. The main theme of the first movement of his
second quartet (1944) is based on the theme from Weinberg’s second quartet, written five years
earlier. 19
Shostakovich highly valued Weinberg’s music and considered him a composer equal to
himself. He dedicated his tenth quartet to Weinberg. In his letter to Isaak Glikman dated July 27,
1964 Shostakovich writes “Yesterday I finished another quartet. Tenth. Dedicated to M.
Weinberg. He wrote nine quartets, thus overtaking me (I had eight). I set the goal to catch up and
overtake Weinberg, which I did.”20
After the end of World War II, life became even more difficult for composers and artists
of Jewish origin in the Soviet Union. At the Victory banquet on May 24, 1945, Stalin proclaimed
a toast "for the Russian people,"21 singling out the Russian people among the other nationalities
in the USSR as "the ruling force of the Soviet Union." Stalin's speech was a signal for
toughening the campaign aimed at suppressing various ethnicities, especially the Jewish. In 1948
Weinberg’s father-in-law, Solomon Mikhoels, by the order of Stalin, was bludgeoned to death
and then had his body run over by a truck. His murder was disguised as a car accident.22
Shortly after his death, the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union,Andrei Zhdanov (1896-1948), started an Anti-Formalist campaign that required
composers to write accessible music. This campaign began with the ban of the opera Great
Friendship by Vano Muradeli (1908-1970). On January 5, 1948 Joseph Stalin and other
17
Weinberg took part in the premieres of other works by Shostakovich: he played the Sonata for Violin and Piano
with David Oistrakh in the Union of Composers, and in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory with Galina
Vishnevskaya, David Oistrakh, and Mstislav Rostropovich, he performed the vocal cycle called "Seven Poems of
Alexander Blok."
18
Lyudmila Nikitina, “Every Moment of My Life – is work.”
19
David Fanning, “What Counts Is the Music: Mieczysław Weinberg’s Life and Work,” 22 September 2010,
https://www.eurozine.com/what-counts-is-the-music/.
20
Isaak Glikman, Story of a Friendship: The Letters of Dmitry Shostakovich to Isaak Glikman (New York: Cornell
University Press, 2001).
21
https://histrf.ru/lichnosti/speeches/b/tost-za-russkii-narod
22
http://eleven.co.il/jews-of-russia/jewish-history-in-ussr/15418/
5
members of the Central Committee visited the Bolshoi Theater, where they saw the opera. It
made an extremely unpleasant impression on them because it allegedly contradicted the
ideological line of the party. The next day Zhdanov organized a meeting for the Soviet
composers. In his speech, he not only accused Muradeli’s opera, but also called Shostakovich's
opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk crude, primitive and vulgar.23 He also criticized the music of
Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolai Myaskovsky, Gabriel Popov, Vissarion Shebalin, Aram Khachaturian,
and other Soviet composers who used modern and abstract harmonies.
After the death of Solomon Mikhoels, all of his family, including Weinberg, fell under
surveillance. The family was under house arrest, they were not allowed to work or use a phone,
their house was surrounded by security, and they only could go out if accompanied by guards.
The family waited in fear for their time to be arrested and deported, but fortunately all transit
points were overcrowded. This lasted about five years.
In 1953 Weinberg was arrested on several fabricated charges based on assumptions about
his political loyalty and his association with Solomon Mikhoels. Weinberg spent three months in
the Butyrka prison, charged with propagandizing the idea of creating a Jewish republic in
Crimea.24 According to another charge, Weinberg, in 1946 had pursued the idea of creating the
Jewish section in the Union of Soviet Composers, which was to become the beginning of the
Jewish Conservatory in the Crimea.25 The last charge was for the famous “Doctor’s plot,” an
anti-Semitic campaign organized by Stalin, who, in his last year of life, was paranoid and
thought that Jewish doctors who worked at Kremlin were going to assassinate him. One of those
doctors, Miron Vovsi happened to be an uncle of Weinberg’s wife.
Shostakovich wrote to Stalin's Deputy Premier, Lavrenty Beria, that Weinberg was
innocent. He said: "I can vouch for Weinberg in that he is an honest artist and citizen, and not a
traitor and not an American spy. I know that your prisoners are being beaten. And he cannot be
tortured, he has weak health.” 26
23
“Sumbur Vmesto Muziki,”Pravda, January 26, 1936
24
Nine years earlier, in February 1944, Mikhoels and other members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist delegation sent a
letter to Stalin about the creation of the Jewish Republic in Crimea and the proposal of the Jewish circles of America
that the Jewish Autonomous Republic includes the entire Crimea with its southern coast. But Weinberg never took
part in the development of Solomon’s plans.
25
Mihail Kaluzhskiy, Victimized Music (Moscow: Klassika XXI, 2007), 25
26
Lyudmila Nikitina, “Every Moment of My Life – is work.” Muzïkalnaya Akademiya 1994, no. 5: p. 22
Shostakovich was ready to take the Power of Attorney for Weinberg’s seven-year-old daughter Victoria in case his
wife would also be arrested. In those terrible Stalinist times, the children of the arrested were taken to orphanages.
6
Who knows how things would have turned out if Stalin did not die in March 1953. But
thanks to his death, the Doctor’s case was stopped, the forthcoming deportation of Jews to
Siberia was canceled, and on April 25, Weinberg, the only one of all the composers of the Soviet
Union who was imprisoned, was released.
Music of Mieczysław Weinberg

The music of any composer is closely connected with life circumstances. Weinberg’s life
was rather tragic. He lost his family when he was only twenty years old, had to flee from the war
twice, and was arrested for totally absurd reasons. By his nature, Weinberg was a timid and
modest person with a lighthearted attitude. His music combines features of the lyricism that
comes from his personality, with the feelings of pain and anger, that he experienced throughout
his life.27
In the official list of Weinberg’s compositions there are 153 opus numbers, among them
are 26 symphonies, 17 string quartets, seven operas, three ballets, six concertos, 30 sonatas and
more than 200 songs, as well as 60 film scores, music for theatre and circus, and many other
works. Weinberg’s music can be divided into two stylistic periods: before the late 1950s and
after the 1950s. In the first period his music was accessible in part because his only composition
teacher was the classically-trained Vasily Zolotaryov, and partly because music was required by
the Communist Party to be simple and accessible. Weinberg very seldom, however, followed all
of the stipulations of Socialist Realism. Only a few of his works, including the well-known
Rhapsody on Moldavian themes for violin and orchestra, were accepted by Zhdanov because of
their positive character, use of folk tunes, and memorable melodies.
One important aspect of Weinberg’s music is the influence of folk music. His style was
influenced by Russian, Jewish, Polish, and Moldovan folk music, and this interest showed itself
most prominently during the 1940s and 1950s. At that time, Weinberg wrote symphonic suites:
"Rhapsody on Moldovan themes", "Polish tunes", "Rhapsody on Slavic themes", the Third
Symphony that is based on two folk songs – Belorussian “What is the moon”, and Polish “Matek
has died”, and the earlier mentioned "Moldavian Rhapsody for violin and orchestra.” The other
important line of his work was related to Jewish music. Accompanying his father at rehearsals,
27
Nikitina, Lyudmila. “Every Moment of My Life – is work”, Muzïkalnaya Akademiya 5 (1994): 17-24.
7
performances and in recording studios, Mieczysław was exposed to traditional Jewish melodies
from a very early age. The compositions with the most Jewish influence are two cycles of
"Jewish songs" for voice with piano, Sinfonietta on the Jewish theme for orchestra, and the
Symphony No. 21 “Kaddish” for soprano and orchestra.
The second period of Weinberg’s compositional career began a few years after the death
of Stalin when composers finally had freedom to write music in any style. The predominant
themes of Weinberg’s music became war, death and destruction as symbols of evil. He was
finally free to write pieces dedicated to the war, fascism, or death. This agenda is predominantly
shown in his Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Twelfth, and Twenty First Symphonies. Symphony
No. 6 (1963) was written in commemoration of the children who were murdered in Babi Yar, the
site of massacres of Jewish people that was carried out by Nazis in September 29th-30th, 1941.
A year after the Sixth Symphony, in 1964, Weinberg wrote the Eighth Symphony that is
titled "Flowers of Poland". The first five movements depict pre-war Poland. The culmination of
the symphony is the sixth movement, “The Lesson,” which opens with a series of narrations
about the atrocities of fascism and recent tragedies. The final movement of the symphony,
"Water of the Vistula," returns listeners to the poetic musical imagery of nature that became a
witness to the bloody events.
The other composition that commemorates these sorrowful events is the Cantata Diary of
Love, Op 87, (1965), dedicated to the memory of the children who died in Auschwitz. The
cantata is for tenor, a boys’ choir, and orchestra. The cantata is about a survivor of a
concentration camp (solo tenor), who writes four letters to his four family members who will not
return: mother, daughter, father, and wife.28
Music of Weinberg’s later period is more stylistically diverse. He began experimenting
with atonal music, avant-garde, minimalism and 12-tone technique – it especially can be seen in
his works for solo instruments that were written in the 1960s.
For many years Weinberg remained in the shadow of more famous composers of his time
like Dmitry Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolay Myaskovsky, and Aram Khachaturian.
During his lifetime, Weinberg never sought any fame; he was a very modest person and he did
28
Weinberg’s symphonies Nos. 17th, 18th (1984) and 19th (1985), combined in the trilogy "On the Threshold of
War," and his last completed Symphony No. 21, Kaddish, are dedicated to the Jews who died in the Warsaw Ghetto.
The other compositions influenced by war are the Requiem (1965), the opera The Passenger (1968), and the opera
The Madonna and the Soldier (1970).
8
not promote his compositions, nor did he care about their fate. His goal was composing for the
sake of the process. 29 During the 1940s, when Zhdanov’s Anti-Formalist campaign was active,
Weinberg’s music was not banned, but it was ignored. It became more popular during the 1960s
and was performed by leading musicians and conductors, including Mstislav Rostropovich,
David Oistrakh, and Leonid Kogan.30 However, his fame did not last very long. When the
younger generation of Soviet composers, including Alfred Schnittke, Edison Denisov, and Sofia
Gubaidulina started to become established, Weinberg’s music fell into obscurity.31 In general
audiences started to become curious about the new avant-garde movement and they lost interest
in the Soviet classic composers. In the 1990s the new music fashion overshadowed music of
Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Myaskovsky, Weinberg, and other composers of their generation. Their
music was not progressive enough.32 After Weinberg’s death his music was in oblivion for a
several decades. The revival of Weinberg's music began in the twenty-first century in the West.
29
Inessa Dvushilnaya, “Nezvuchaschie Partituri: Holocaust v Tvorchestve Mieczysława Vainberga,” Proceedings of
the 19th International Annual Conference of Jewish Studies no. 1 (2012): 105
30
The other artists who performed Weinberg’s compositions were Gennady Rozhdestvensky, and the Borodin
quartet. Works by Weinberg were performed by: D. Oistrakh (Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano, “Moldovan
rhapsody”), M. Rostropovich (Concerto for cello and orchestra, Sonata No. 2 for cello and piano, Sonata No. 1 for
solo cello), L. Kogan (Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Concerto for Violin), D. Saffran (Sonata No. 1 for Cello and
Piano), E. Gilels (Sonata No. 1 for Piano). Many quartets of Weinberg were played by the Borodin Quartet.
Weinberg's symphonic works were conducted by K. Sanderling, G. Rozhdestvensky, R. Barshai, V. Fedoseev, P.
Kogan and others.
31
http://linesthathaveescapeddestruction.blogspot.com/p/who-is-weinberg.html?m=1
32
David Fanning, Mieczyslaw Weinberg - In Search of Freedom, p.144
9
CHAPTER 2
CELLO CONCERTO
In 1957 in Moscow, renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich premiered a new cello

concerto written nine years earlier and dedicated to him by Weinberg. 33 Its premiere was
delayed for nine years due to the political climate in the Soviet Union at that time. When Stalin
was alive, composers were forced to write in a style that highlights Social Realism, which means
music had to be simple, traditional, and accessible to the Soviet audience. The concerto does not
conform to the required style of Socialist Realism. Despite its accessible music, the piece has
some dark moments and tragic intonations, qualities that were disdained by Stalin. It has tragic
qualities, for example, the first theme of the concerto, which also repeats at the end, is very dark
in character and resembles a funeral march. Weinberg incorporated his personal feelings and
losses into that theme. The concerto was written in 1948, one of the most difficult years for
Weinberg, his father-in-law was murdered by the order of Stalin and his entire family was under
surveillance.
This concerto demonstrates great musical variety. The diversity of the work, its rhythmic
simplicity, and folk thematic content make it accessible to a wide range of audiences. The Cello
Concerto is the first concerto Weinberg composed for any instrument. It is roughly 30 minutes
long and consists of four contrasting movements: Adagio, Moderato, Allegro, and Allegro. The
concerto comprises a variety of moods: lyrical, dramatic, powerful, sorrowful, and triumphant.
Some of the movements display folk elements. The 4-movement plan is not typical for the solo
concerto, which usually has three movements (fast – slow – fast), and is more typical for a
symphony. There was a precedent in Elgar’s Cello Concerto (Op.85), but more directly,
Weinberg was inspired by Shostakovich’s violin concerto, written in 1947, which features four
movements. Also, like Shostakovich, Weinberg placed the cadenza between the third and fourth
movements, instead of at the end of a movement.
33
Throughout his life Weinberg wrote a number of works that include string instruments: 3 sonatas for violin solo, 4
sonatas for viola solo, 4 sonatas for cello solo, 24 preludes for cello solo, a sonata for double-bass solo, 17 string
quartets, concerto for violin and orchestra, for cello and orchestra, concertino for violin and string orchestra, string
symphonies.
10
Movement I: Adagio
The character of the first movement is dark and tragic with an Adagio tempo in C minor.
The orchestra sets the mood with repetitive C minor chords that evoke a funeral procession. At
the beginning the long, lyrical cello melody is set against this chordal backdrop. The first
movement features only one theme that consists of a flowing 8-bar phrase (Ex. 2.1).
Example 2.1. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 1-9.
The nature of the theme is melancholic and calm. The cello introduces the theme with a
piano dynamic level. The melody moves mostly by step; the biggest leap is the octave in m. 8.
The theme is marked with slurs, which help the phrase to be continuous and uninterrupted. The
second time it is given to the orchestra. The theme in the orchestra is marked forte and lasts only
five bars, after which the cello takes over. This time the theme in cello part is higher one step and
it is also octave higher – which makes it more intense. The culmination lasts 10 bars after which
the melody returns to its calm nature of the beginning. Weinberg imbued his sorrow of loss and
11
his emotions. It is a relatively short first movement that seems like a slow introduction to the
subsequent movements. It moves into the second movement without pause.
Toward the end of the movement Weinberg borrows the four-note motto that
Shostakovich used frequently, e.g., in his music for the film The Young Guard, written one year
earlier than Weinberg’s Cello Concerto. Since the two composers were friends, perhaps
Weinberg wanted to make a tribute to Shostakovich in that way. As Weinberg wrote “I always
feel proud when in conversations, speeches, in the press they call me Shostakovich’s student,
although I did not take a single lesson from him, I only regularly showed him all my works.”
(Ex. 2.2). 34
Example 2.2. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 59-62.
Another similarity with Shostakovich is the instrumentation of the concerto. In the

second and third movements there is a dialogue between the solo cello and trumpet. The idea of a
cello and brass instrument duet would also be developed later by Shostakovich in the First Cello
Concerto (the famous horn solos), and in the Second Concerto (the horn introduction to a
cadenza).
Movement II: Moderato

The second movement consists of two themes that appear in a Rondo-like form. The first
theme is in A natural minor and is simple and lyrical. The simplicity, lyrical character, natural
minor and repetitiveness are distinct features of Russian folk song. It is initially played by the
34
Mieczyslaw Weinberg, “Pisma o Lubvi”, Muzikalnaya Zhizn, 2000, no.1, p. 18
12
muted solo cello against a soft backdrop of pizzicato strings; then the orchestra picks up the
melody.
The graceful accompaniment is based on the habañera rhythmic figure: dotted eighth
note, sixteenth note, followed by two eighth notes (Ex. 2.3). The habañera rhythm originated in
Cuba and is used for the bass line of many tangos. The harmonic progression of the
accompaniment is also common to tango – I, V, I, V, I. Throughout the movement, the lyrical
intonations and gentle quality of the first theme are juxtaposed with the rhythmic tango
accompaniment.
Example 2.3. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, second movement, mm. 1-14.
The tango was very popular in Eastern Europe in the middle of the century. It was
introduced there in the 1930s by Argentinian orchestras that were touring Europe and the United
States. In Poland, where Weinberg grew up, the tango became a prominent genre in popular
culture. Jewish composers wrote many tangos for Yiddish theatres and musicals. From Poland,
the tango travelled to the Soviet Union. It is still a very popular genre in Russia today. During the
Holocaust, the tango was part of everyday life in ghettos and concentration camps. In fact, the
Nazis forced camp orchestras, called Lagernkapellen, to play tangos while prisoners were
marched to gas chambers.35 They became known as “Death Tangos.” Perhaps by incorporating
tango into the concerto, Weinberg paid tribute to those executed, including his parents and a
younger sister who were victims.
35
Lloica Czackis, "Yiddish Tango: A Musical Genre" European Judaism: A Journal for the New Europe 42, no. 2
(2009): 107.
13
The second theme contrasts with the first. While the first is gentle, lyrical, and legato, the
second has a more vigorous quality with its fortissimo dynamic and percussive, accented
articulation. In addition, while the first theme was played by the cello, the second is introduced
by the trumpet, which has a highly contrasting timbre (Ex. 2.4).
Example 2.4. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, second movement, mm. 27-31.
This instrumentation and the harmony of this theme are similar to those in Klezmer
music. Besides the trumpet, the clarinets are also featured in this theme. Both the trumpet and the
clarinets featured in this section are also common to Klezmer bands. Furthermore, the harmony
has a raised seventh scale degree which is also common in Klezmer music. Since Weinberg was
exposed to Jewish music in his childhood when he played piano in his father’s Jewish theatre, it
was natural for him to compose in this style.
When the first theme returns, it is in a major mode, but it retains its folk character with a
lowered sixth scale degree. Weinberg continues to play with chromatic alterations to the melody,
imbuing the music with a mix of Russian, Spanish, and Jewish folk traditions. The juxtaposition
of Slavic motives, tango rhythm and Klezmer instrumentation makes this movement the most
diverse and unique.
Movement III: Allegro

The third movement has a fast tempo, triple meter, and the energetic quality of a scherzo.
While it does not have a clearly delineated form, it seems to fall into the traditional ternary
structure (ABA). The A section features three themes. The first theme consists of the orchestral
introduction and a cello theme. The introduction consists of an eight-measure phrase in which
14
the first four measures are in D major and second four feature the same motive but in D minor
(Ex. 2.5).
Example 2.5. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 1-7.
After the orchestral introduction, the cello enters with an assertive, energetic theme in D
major. It begins with repeated notes at a fortissimo dynamic level. The simple, dance-like
character is conveyed by the narrow range and predominantly stepwise motion of the first four-
measure phrase and the leaping, slurred figures of the second four-measure phrase (Ex. 2.6).
The second theme is similar in character to the first. It also contains repetitive eighth-note
figures and a simple, chordal eighth notes accompaniment in quarter notes that emphasizes the
15
triple meter of this dance movement (Ex. 2.7). The main difference between the themes is that
the second one is in A minor.
The third theme has a dreamy, poetic character enhanced by the dolce expressive
marking, simple rhythms, and slurred phrasing in the solo part. Although it is different in
character from the first two themes, it retains the quick tempo, and the theme is accompanied by
an active orchestra part. The solo cello plays the melody, and the lower strings play the first
theme (Ex. 2.8).
16
The B section is in the contrasting key of F sharp. This theme is similar to the third theme
from the A section; the solo part has a similar rhythmic pattern of half notes and quarter notes,
phrasing and lyricism. However, the accompaniment in the B section is less rhythmical and more
gentle, with sustained notes, suspensions, and a soft dynamic level (Ex. 2.9).
After the B section the A section returns with all three themes, but here Weinberg adds a
new pizzicato theme in the cello solo part while first violins play the melody of the first theme
(Ex. 2.10).
17
Cadenza
The cadenza appears at the end of the third movement. It starts with the repetition of the
last four measures of the third movement. In the cadenza Weinberg develops motives from the
first and third movements, but not the second. Its virtuosic qualities include double stops, the
use of the entire range of the cello, from the lowest notes to the very highest, and multiple tempo
changes, alternating between andante and allegro. The cadenza serves as a transition from the
impetuous motion of the previous movements to the calm exposition of the finale. Most of the
cadenza is based on the theme of the first movement, and only a couple of measures of it use the
theme from the third movement. By using this theme in the cadenza and also in the recapitulation
of the last movement Weinberg emphasizes the tragic mood and implies that this is the main
character of the whole piece. The example 2.11 shows the motives in the cadenza that are based
on the main theme of the first movement. Unlike most solo concertos in which the cadenza is
primarily intended to show off the virtuosity of the performer, Weinberg’s cadenza has a deep
and more serious meaning (Ex. 2.11).
Example 2.11. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, cadenza, mm. 482-497.
18
From the listeners point of view, it might have been good to include an expanded
orchestral tutti between the cadenza and the beginning of the fourth movement. It also would be
appreciated by the soloist, because the solo part from the beginning of the third movement to the
end is very continuous and intense.
Movement IV: Allegro

The finale in a modified sonata form. The exposition consists of three themes, two of
which are similar in character – calm and moderate in tempo - and the third one is contrasting.
The primary theme is in E flat major and is played by cello in its lowest register, with a few
instruments accompanying (Ex.2.12).
Example 2.12. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, fourth movement, mm. 1-10.
The secondary theme is a tender dialogue between the solo cello and the first violins. It is
one of the most lyrical themes of the whole concerto (Ex. 2.13). The expressiveness of the theme
is conveyed with a piano dynamic level and a few crescendos.
19
The third theme is in G minor and is performed by a muted trumpet. The energy and
rhythmic character of this theme is similar to the second theme of the second movement, which
provides a sort of cyclic connection between the movements (Ex. 2.14).
In the development all three themes are presented in various key signatures. The
development starts with the flute playing the main theme of the movement, then the solo cello
takes over. In the development first and second themes are combined together, sometimes when
the solo cello has the first theme, the orchestra plays the second theme. The energetic third theme
is played by a trumpet in F minor, and then by a solo cello.
20
The recapitulation is the dramatic climax of the whole concerto. The full orchestra brings
back the sorrowful theme of the first movement, rather than simply recapitulating the primary
theme of the final movement. It has a powerful effect. Weinberg wants us to remember the tragic
mood he introduced in the beginning and offer resounding final statement on it. After the loud
tutti, the cello plays solo for a couple of measures, which gives the impression of loneliness.
Then the theme fades out and the solo cello gradually rises to the highest register, dissolving into
the light, pianissimo C major in the very last chord. To me it sounds like a redemptive gesture
toward overcoming pain and loss.
Practice Suggestions
Weinberg’s Cello Concerto is not as technically virtuosic as other standard cello concertos,
e.g., those by Haydn, Dvořák, and Shostakovich, but it does have a variety of challenging and
engaging elements. The first movement provides an excellent opportunity to master the
continuity of the sound due to its long phrases. The first phrase is nine measure long and the
second is twenty-four. The cellist learning this piece must pay attention to making smooth,
seamless bow changes; the impression should be that the long phrase is played with one long
bow. The right hand must always be relaxed. The mood of this movement is very dark; in order
to achieve the right sound the vibrato should not be too fast or too wide.
The second movement contains contrasting characters and requires versatility from the
performer. I suggest that the first ten measures are played with poco vibrato to demonstrate a
melancholic and timid character that could be associated with a sad folk song. The second theme
has a percussive nature. The performer must choose fingerings carefully to avoid slides, and the
bow stroke should be close to marcato. Every time the melody ascends into the high register the
cellist must keep the bow close to the bridge to produce a bright, clear sound.
The third movement is the most technically challenging due to its fast tempo. It is also
considerably longer than the previous movements. This movement should be practiced slowly
while still expressing the energetic character of the dance. The predominant bow stroke of the
movement is detaché but the cellist should not use too much bow even when practicing slowly.
On the notes that are slurred, a small accent should be added at the beginning of each slur to
21
make the bow change clear. This movement needs to be practiced with the metronome at a
variety of tempos. It is easy to rush, especially in scalar passages like the one in mm. 84-85. The
dolce theme that starts in m. 90 is difficult for the left hand, as it contains many leaps of fifths,
sixths, and octaves that should not disturb the smooth, legato articulation of the lyrical melody.
The left hand should be very light and fast; therefore, it is important to keep the thumb relaxed.
The bow speed should be fast. The cellist should use just a little more than half of a bow and
keep the same bow speed throughout the melody to keep it moving.
While the cadenza does not feature as much technical virtuosity as those of other concertos,
it is dramatic and effective in its expressiveness and in the way the melodies are developed.
Weinberg took the melody from the first movement and added a second voice to it. It sounds
very intense because of the dissonances—major/minor seconds and sevenths. There are also
abrupt changes in character. For example, the Andante tempo is interrupted in the middle of the
cadenza by a sudden change to Allegro, recalling the Allegro theme of the third movement. It
lasts for only eight measures and then returns to Andante for remainder of the cadenza.
The last movement appears after the cadenza with no break. The dynamic at the beginning
is pianissimo, the same dynamic marking as in the last ten measures of the cadenza. I suggest
changing the dynamic level of the cello in the first measure of the finale to piano instead of
pianissimo in order for the soloist’s melody to be heard over the orchestra. Since the register is
low, it can be difficult for the solo cellist to project the melody at a pianissimo level. The third
theme that begins in the pickup to m. 89 is very similar to the second theme of the second
movement; it is also percussive, so the bow stroke should be marcato with separation between
the notes.
22
CHAPTER 3
24 PRELUDES FOR SOLO CELLO
Weinberg composed the 24 Preludes for Solo Cello in 1960. The work was inspired by the
24 Preludes and Fugues for Piano written in 1950 by Dmitry Shostakovich, which were modeled
on Bach’s 24 Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier.36 Similar to the sets by
Shostakovich and Bach, these preludes are unified by a large-scale plan. Each prelude is based
on a different tonal center ascending successively in half steps (C – C# – D – E-flat – etc.) for the
first twelve and then descending back to C. Weinberg treats this scheme with flexibility,
sometimes using enharmonic spellings or ending the prelude on the pitch associated with the
next movement.
This work demonstrates many different styles; it combines Weinberg’s traditional
compositional training received from his study with Zolotaryov at the Minsk Conservatory,
especially the contrapuntal writings of J.S. Bach, his experiences playing Klezmer music in his
childhood, Russian folk music, and his inspiration of music by Shostakovich.37 The work has
many extended techniques, such as left hand pizzicato, col legno, large leaps, harmonics, sul
ponticello, trills, chromatic scales, and double-stops. Each prelude is unique and does not relate
musically to the previous one. The whole composition lasts about 40 minutes, and the average
duration of each prelude is 2 minutes.
Prelude No. 1 begins with a striking, fortissimo introductory section in C major with a
motive characterized by large octave leaps from the lowest register to the highest. It quickly
becomes tonally ambiguous after only six measures when flats and sharps appear and the music
becomes increasingly chromatic (Ex.3.1).
36
Mark Mazullo. " Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues: Contexts, Style, Performance," p. 27. Yale University
Press, 2010. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1nph6c.7.
37
Elizabeth A. Grunin. A Performance Guide for the Unaccompanied Cello Compositions by Mieczysław Weinberg,
(2015). Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance - School of Music, p. 12.
23
Example 3.1. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 1, mm. 1-16.
©With kind permission - Musikverlag Hans Sikorski GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg.
A lyrical melody enters in m. 17. It remains fortissimo but contrasts in character with
stepwise motion, legato phrasing, and quickly ascending gestures of successive rhythmic
groupings, as well as an improvisatory style. The disjunct opening material returns briefly before
a final crescendo on D that resolves to C-sharp, evading the expectation of a cadence on C.
The focus of the 2nd prelude is on the alternation of forte and piano. Compared to the
improvisatory nature of the 1st Prelude created by its rhythmic variety, the 2nd has a very steady
rhythmic motion of mostly quarter notes on the beat in 4/4 time. The repetitive, chromatic
melody is narrow in range and has a percussive quality created by accents on each note. In this
prelude Weinberg uses the echo effect, similar to that used in Baroque instrumental music, in
which successive phrases are played with forte then piano dynamic levels.
Prelude No. 3 features the unusual combination of two extended techniques—col legno and
left hand pizzicato. These techniques provide the contrast between the two voices, which are
separated by a wide range and notated on a grand staff. A straightforward rhythmic pattern of
sixteenth notes and eighth notes in duple meter with a steady, moderate tempo creates a march-
like quality. The staccato articulation produces a playful character (Ex. 3.2).
24
Prelude No. 4 features two contrasting voices, one low and one high, that interact in a
conversational manner. Its dramatic character contrasts with the playful nature of the third
prelude. The dynamic level is forte and the melody in the high register sounds like a scream. The
beginning of the prelude is organized in two clear eight-bar phrases, after which the pattern
changes and the phrases become six- and seven-measures long. The intensity fades as the
phrasing breaks up, followed by a diminuendo leading into the final measures. The piece ends
with the same opening figure (D – E-flat) but at a pianissimo dynamic level.
Prelude No. 5 stands out for its use of musical quotation and interruption. Weinberg uses
the main theme from Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor; he alters it slightly within
the new context, but it remains recognizable (Ex. 3.3 and 3.4)
Example 3.3. R. Schumann Cello Concerto, first movement, mm 1-14.
The prelude begins with a three-measure introductory phrase consisting of repetitive

descending minor-sixth intervals (E – G#). The main theme enters at m. 4 an octave lower than
25
the original theme from Schumann’s concerto and also in triple meter instead of Schumann’s
duple meter. Throughout the piece, successive statements of the theme are interrupted—twice by
the opening minor-sixth figure and twice by a short 32nd-note motive.
In Prelude No. 6, two distinct motives are contrasted: the first is a linear motive with a
simple rhythm of quarter notes performed using harmonics, and the second is characterized by
loud chords embellished with grace notes. These motives are played in alternation. The last
iteration of the primary motive is altered significantly; it is played without harmonics at a
fortissimo dynamic level in a lower register (on the C string). The prelude concludes with a
section of new material that features left hand pizzicato on fingered notes, which can be
technically challenging to produce. The mysterious character is enhanced by the pianissimo
dynamic level and the low range.
Prelude No. 7 differs in character from the preceding preludes. It opens with a
chromatically ascending and descending line of quickly-moving sixteenth notes that sounds
virtuosic. It has a light character created by the fast notes, pianissimo dynamic level, and high
register—the music is written only in the tenor and treble clefs and the highest note is D-flat6.
The entire piece is played con sordino. It ends with a trill-like figure played sul ponticello that
fades away with a diminuendo to ppp.
Prelude No. 8 is in ABA form and is modeled on the two gavottes from Bach’s Cello Suite
No. 6. Similarities are noticeable from the start. In the A section, Weinberg uses a rhythmic
pattern of quarter notes and eighth notes, as well as intervals (e.g., major and minor sixths) and
chord structures, that are very similar to Bach’s Gavotte I (Ex. 3.5 and 3.6).
Example 3.5. J. S. Bach Gavotte I from Suite for Solo Cello No. 6, mm 1-11.
26
Also like Bach’s first Gavotte, the A section has a joyful and energetic character. It is
marked fortissimo and consists of double stops and pizzicato chords. The B section is marked
ppp and played non vibrato and sul tasto. It is reminiscent of the second half of Bach’s Gavotte
II in its eighth-note rhythmic patterns and the imitation of the drone of a bagpipe (Ex. 3.7).
Example 3.7. J.S. Bach Gavotte II from Suite for Solo Cello No. 6, mm. 16-20.
Prelude No. 9 has an aggressive character. It is marked fortissimo with marcatissimo

articulation, and it features a lot of dissonance created by major and minor seconds, major
sevenths, and augmented fourths. This prelude is technically challenging with extensive use of
chords, which also consist of octaves, very wide intervals, and large leaps. The fast tempo makes
it difficult for the performer to achieve smooth phrasing.
Prelude No. 10 has an energetic dance character. It is written in 5/8 meter. The music is
minimalist in style; it has a steady pulse and consists of a series of short melodic phrases, each of
which repeats several times before moving to the next. Each measure begins with a downbow on
a single low note followed by a quick move to a higher series of four slurred notes in a
27
descending or ascending pattern. The music is written almost entirely in eighth notes, except for
a few half-note chords that appear after approximately every 20 bars.
Prelude No. 11 contrasts with the lively dance of the previous prelude. It features a slow
tempo and pianississimo dynamic level, and it is played con sordino and non-vibrato. There are
two ideas, both of which contain dissonant harmonies and lack traditional melodic qualities: the
first consists of a series of double stops in a narrow range and the second consists of tremolos.
The music remains in the low register of the cello, giving it a dark, contemplative character.
Prelude No. 12 is one of the most lyrical preludes in the set and it features elements of a
Slavic folk song—it is in E-flat natural minor and the melody employs round phrases, slurs, and
repetition. Its slow tempo, 6/8 time signature, and pianissimo dynamic give it the character of a
lullaby, which is also common in Slavic folk song. It sounds gentle, especially when the melody
climbs into the high register.
Prelude No. 13 is the only prelude that is played completely with pizzicato. This can be
exciting and challenging for the performer because it requires a lot of technique: the pizzicato is
applied to sixteenth notes, loud chords, glissandos, double stops, and double-stop harmonics. It is
possible that Weinberg found inspiration for this prelude in the music of the Hungarian
composers Zoltán Kodály and György Ligeti. The subito fortissimo chords is reminiscent of the
technique Kodály used in the third movement of his Suite for Solo Cello (1915), (Ex. 3.8 and
3.9), and the glissandi pizzicato are similar to the technique Ligeti used in the first part of his
Solo Cello Sonata (1953) (Ex. 3.10 and 3.11).
Example 3.8. Z. Kodaly Sonata for Solo Cello, third movement, mm. 73-86.
28
Example 3.9. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 13, mm.12-13.
Example 3.10. G. Ligeti Sonata for Solo Cello. Dialogo, mm. 1-5.
Prelude No. 14 is played entirely with harmonics and is one of the shortest preludes in the
set, lasting only about a minute. It is also one of the few that uses traditional tonal harmonies.
The music consists of two contrasting ideas, each two measures in length, that alternate
throughout the prelude. The first is a motive of repeated sixteenth notes outlining a triad. The
second is a sweeping gesture of slurred sixteenth-note arpeggios that encompass a wide range.
29
These phrases repeat, each time modulating to a new key—B-flat major, D major, G minor, A
major, A minor, B-flat major, E major, and G major—finally returning to B flat major at the end.
Prelude No. 15 has features of a fugue. The subject is presented in the first four measures,
followed by the answer at m. 5; the countersubject appears in m. 9 in the upper voice, and in m.
10 in the lower voice (Ex. 3.12). The music is written on a grand staff like a piano score. A
pianissimo dynamic is maintained throughout, with only a slight crescendo and diminuendo in
the last three measures.
Prelude No. 16 has similarities to Prelude No. 13 in that it opens with a pizzicato figure
played fortissimo and has a bouncy, dance-like character. The pizzicato idea serves as a
harmonic introduction—like a polka accompaniment figure—to the fast, energetic melody,
which is characterized by an ascending succession of two-note slurs, all in sixteenth notes. The
melody is 15 measures long and repeats four times. In between each statement of the melody the
pizzicato “polka accompaniment” figure reappears. The final statement of the melody ascends to
the highest range of the cello and ends on G#6.
Prelude No. 17 is the loudest and most dramatic in the whole work. It opens fortissimo with
an agitated repeated-note figure in the highest register. Every other note is embellished with
trills, which adds to the anxious character of the theme. The second theme contrasts with the
first—it is calmer, with a slow tempo and a piano dynamic level. It consists of double stops in
30
the low register and also features subtle expressive qualities, e.g., dynamic swells on a single
note. Weinberg uses col legno technique for the return of the first theme at the end.
Prelude No. 18 is a personal favorite. It is based on the Russian song “Don’t Rush the
Horses” written by Jewish composer Jacob Feldmann in 1914 and setting a poem by Nikolai von
Ritter.38 In 1920 the song was banned for being incompatible with the Communist ideology. The
ban was lifted after Stalin’s death and it became very popular; it is still performed in concert
halls in Russia today. This song resonates with the tragic event Weinberg experienced, including
the loss of his family, the murder of his father-in-law, and his own arrest. The text of the song is
rather depressing:
How sad, foggy all around,
My way is melancholy, desolate,
And the past seems a dream,
Torments my sore breast.
(Chorus):
Coachman, do not rush the horses,
I have no more a place to hasten to,
I have nobody to love any more,
Coachman, do not rush the horses.
How I crave among the gloomy plains
To forget faithlessness and love,
But memory – my malicious lord –
Evokes the past all over again.
(Chorus)
It was all just lies and deceit.
Farewell to my dreams and love,
But the pain of unclosed wounds
Will remain eternally with me.39
38
https://zhiznteatr.mirtesen.ru/blog/43612175488/Istoriya-odnoy-pesni.-YAmschik-ne-goni-loshadey
39
Translations by Richard Stokes.
http://hanoiparis.com/construct.php?page=paysagetxt&idfam=187&idpays=11165
31
Weinberg quotes the tune from the chorus of “Don’t Rush the Horses” directly in this
Prelude. As a glance at the score suggests, he also borrows the style of J.S. Bach’s Sarabande
movement from the second Cello Suite (Ex. 3.13).
Example 3.13. J. S. Bach Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 2, mm. 1-15.
Weinberg’s prelude is also in triple meter with a slow tempo; it has lot of chords and
double-stops; and it is in binary form, with each section repeated (Ex. 3.14).
The tonal plan also coincides with that of Bach’s Sarabande. There is no key signature, but
the accidentals in the first bars of each phrase in the A section suggest F-sharp minor, and the B
section of the binary form starts in the relative major (A major). The prelude starts with a direct
32
quotation of the Russian song tune but after two measures the tune evolves into a variation. The
theme returns for one measure and then is varied again. In the B section only the rhythm of the
original song is preserved; the pitches are changed/altered and suggest a Bach-like melodic style.
Weinberg must have realized the similarity between the rhythms of the Russian folk song and
Bach’s Sarabande.
Prelude No. 19 is very fast and virtuosic. It begins with a three-note scale fragment that is
followed by three quarter rests. This motive repeats but the length of the rests becomes smaller
each time. Gradually the fragment grows from three notes to four notes to five notes, etc., and
eventually becomes a continuous scalar run of sixteenth notes in ascending and descending
motion. As the prelude comes to the end, the running motion is interrupted by rests and the scalar
idea is increasingly fragmented, to finish like it started. This prelude has many double-stop runs
in octaves, sixths, fourths, and seconds, and it therefore requires of the performer a high level of
technique, as well as strength and stamina.
Prelude No. 20 has the quality of an exercise for developing left-hand flexibility and agility
in playing fast notes and double stops, as well as improving intonation. It has two thematic
sections arranged in an ABA form, but neither one features a melody in the traditional sense. The
musical material of the first section is comprised of slurred sixteenth-notes in a narrow range
moving in predominantly stepwise motion with periodic leaps to higher pitches. The material of
the second section features mostly separated notes in disjunct motion played non vibrato. In the
last four measures, new material is presented that differs in style from the rest of the prelude. A
transitional idea in quarter notes played molto vibrato is followed by a quotation of the opening
theme of Dmitry Shostakovich’ s Cello Concerto No. 1. Marked attacca, this section leads
directly into the next prelude, where Shostakovich’s theme is the primary material.
Prelude No. 21 borrows the first theme of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto, as well as a
fragment from his Sonata for cello and piano. Weinberg and Shostakovich were very good
friends and colleagues, and by quoting Shostakovich’s music in this piece Weinberg paid tribute
to his friend. The opening fragment of the theme from Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto is
presented in this Prelude three times. After each statement of that theme, Weinberg quotes the
33
fragment from the fourth movement of Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata. The two themes alternate
and interrupt each other during the entire movement (Ex. 3.15), (Ex. 3.16), (Ex. 3.17), (Ex. 3.18).
Example 3.15. D. Shostakovich Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 1-7.
Example 3.17. D. Shostakovich Sonata for cello and piano, fourth movement, mm.17-23
34
Prelude No. 22 evokes the musical style of the Middle East. It is accompanied throughout
by an open-string D drone in a form of quarter notes. The melody features augmented seconds
and grace notes, which are common to Middle-Eastern music. It also features a few stylized
improvisatory passages. Weinberg’s composition teacher Vasiliy Zolotaryov was a pupil of
Rimsky-Korsakov, many of whose most famous compositions, including Scheherazade, were
inspired by eastern music and culture.40
Prelude No. 23 is the most atonal of all the preludes. It is based on a 12-tone row that is
presented three times throughout the prelude with heavily-accented articulation (Ex. 3.19).
Example 3.19. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 23, opening.
The first time the row is presented mostly in quarter notes; the second and third times it is
presented in eighth notes. The third statement is also in retrograde. The prelude is unmeasured
and periodically features arpeggiated figures, giving it an improvisatory sound. It can be treated
as a virtuosic cadenza. Weinberg incorporates several extended techniques and special timbral
effects, including ricochet, glissando, and pizzicato on unspecified notes (Ex. 3.20). This prelude
is connected by the attacca to the last Prelude.
Example 3.20. Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Solo Cello, Prelude No. 23, closing.
40
Edgar Istel, and Theodore Baker. "Rimsky-Korsakov, the Oriental Wizard." The Musical Quarterly 15, no. 3
(1929): p. 402. http://www.jstor.org/stable/738328
35
Prelude No. 24 is calm and conveys a melancholic and nostalgic mood. It is in a minor
mode and played with the mute. The 3/8 time signature gives it the feel of a slow minuet but at
the end of the prelude, trills provide more cheerful character. The piece ends very quietly and
modestly on a low C, the same pitch center on which the first prelude began. It is intriguing that
Weinberg decided to end such a vibrant work on a quiet, peaceful note.
Practice Suggestions
The 24 Preludes for cello is a more challenging work than the cello concerto. It contains almost
every cello technique possible—double stops, chords, pizzicato, snap pizzicato, left hand
pizzicato, col legno, arpeggio, legato, and trills. It is also rather lengthy; each prelude lasts about
two minutes, which makes the whole work about forty minutes. Although each prelude is
distinctive and engaging, I think it would be exhausting for the performer to play the entire work
in one recital. The piece is technically demanding and requires great virtuosity. In my opinion,
the best approach is for the cellist to choose 10 to 12 preludes to perform at a recital along with
one or two sonatas or other works with piano.
In studying this piece, I came to the conclusion that it can also serve an exercise book, as
each prelude focuses on a particular technique. Preludes Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 15, 17, and 24
contain a lot of left-hand shifting, dynamic contrasts and both legato and detaché bow strokes.
The first prelude has octave leaps and requires extensive shifting of the left hand. Each shift
should be practiced separately. In order to produce clear articulation, the performer needs to
make sure the left hand gets to the note before the bow does.
These preludes are great exercises for controlling dynamics; for example, the second
prelude contains sudden changes from forte to piano. To achieve the dynamic contrast, it is very
important to play with the correct amount of the bow—more bow on forte and a small amount of
bow on piano. Prelude No. 5 is based on Schumann’s Cello Concerto; like Schumann, Weinberg
incorporates many contrasts in character and mood using changes in dynamics and range. The
performer needs to be able to control the sound, the articulation, and the expressive qualities. For
example, this prelude consists of two themes: one is a quotation of Schumann’s lyrical melody in
stepwise and arpeggiated motion; the other is a more motivic idea using a series of minor sixths.
36
When the melody appears, it is marked piano and pianissimo, but the sixths are marked forte and
fortissimo. To create the best contrast between the two themes, the performer must follow the
dynamics and make sure not to crescendo too early during the theme.
Preludes Nos. 3 and 13 are based on a pizzicato technique. The character of both preludes is
march-like and they are in duple meter. The rhythmic pattern of the third prelude consists of two
measures: four sixteenth notes and two eighth notes in the first bar, followed by three eighth
notes and one eighth note rest in the next bar; this rhythmic pattern repeats many times. To
achieve the march-like character the pizzicato should be sound “dry” rather than resonant. This
can be achieved by plucking the string closer to the end of the fingerboard. Prelude No. 13
features passages of continuous sixteenth notes played pizzicato at a fast tempo. In order to play
the sixteenth notes fast enough I recommend plucking the strings with the thumb instead of first
or second finger. The hand must also be relaxed while plucking.
Preludes Nos. 6 and 14 are great exercises for playing harmonics. In No. 6 the transition
between two contrasting techniques—the soft harmonics and the loud double stops—in the
alternating thematic sections requires careful practice. I suggest that after the double stop theme
the performer adds a brief rest before continuing to the harmonics; this will allow the cello to
stop ringing from the double stops so the soft, high-pitched harmonics can be distinguished.
Prelude No. 14 consists entirely of harmonics. There are several technical requirements for the
harmonics to sound clear; the performer needs to keep the bow close to the bridge, the bow must
be light, and the bow speed should be fast.
Preludes Nos. 7, 10, 16, 19, and 20 are the most virtuosic and require rapid left-hand
technique. These preludes must be practiced slowly. The left hand must be very articulate, and
the fingers must remain relaxed but strong. A performer needs to not lift the left-hand fingers too
high but instead keep them as close to the string as possible.
Preludes Nos. 8, 9, 11, 18, and 22 use double stops and chords extensively. For precise
intonation on double stops I suggest practicing the top and bottom voices separately, with the
bow playing only on one string instead of on both strings. Prelude No. 22 is accompanied
throughout by an open-string D drone. It is very easy to play open D too loudly. When the
melody is on the A string, the performer must keep the right elbow higher to make sure the
weight of the arm goes to the A string more than to the D string.
37
CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION
The compositional quality and sophistication of Weinberg’s Cello Concerto and the 24
Preludes makes a strong case for wider dissemination of his works. Throughout the concerto
Weinberg conveys deep feelings, including the emotions and tragedy he endured during that
difficult period in history. Although the concerto can leave an impression of darkness and
depression due to the tragic sound of the beginning and the similar feeling created by the ending,
the concerto has many different characters: the energetic and dance-like first and second themes
of the third movement, the lyrical themes of the second and the forth movements, and the
triumphant themes played by the solo trumpet, in the first and third movements.
The voice of the cello in the concerto is significant; it has many song-like moments in
various registers and it also participates in dramatic climaxes and virtuosic episodes. The
orchestra also plays an important role, for example, the climax of the whole concerto, which
happens in the last movement, is given to the orchestra. Several other instruments have solos as
well in the concerto, such as the trumpet solo in the second and the fourth movements, and there
are several instances of conversational texture such as the dialogue between the solo cello and
the violin section in the fourth movement. The instrumentation of the Concerto is written
skillfully; it is delicate, well thought out, and sometimes transparent, so as to balance the solo
cello. The orchestra lacks oboes and bassoons, using instead a bass clarinet that gives a special
timbre to the soundscape of the orchestra. The structure of the concerto, four movements instead
of the standard three, suggests that Weinberg was thinking more on a symphonic scale than a
typical cello concerto.
The concerto stands out among many of other concertos written for the instrument
because it not only has an emotional connection to the composer, and the historical significance
of being written in the difficult time, but it also incorporates a variety of folk elements. It has
melodies that feature Slavic folk song, Klezmer music, and Tango rhythm all in one
composition.
38
Weinberg’s 24 Preludes for Cello is a diverse and interesting work that contains great
variety in style, musical character, and compositional techniques. He draws from a wide range of
styles, including Baroque and Romantic styles, as well as minimalism and serialism. He
combines traditional and avant-garde elements. Some preludes are lyrical and tonal; others are
atonal, with irregular time signatures and an improvisatory feel. Several preludes reveal
inspiration from famous cello compositions by renowned composers: Bach, Schuman, Kodaly,
Ligeti, and Shostakovich. In addition, many of the preludes are based on folk music traditions,
including Russian, Hungarian, and Oriental. This piece is also technically challenging and
rewarding for the performer, not only because it is written for solo cello with no accompaniment,
but because it requires advanced techniques, including chords, double stops, fast runs, pizzicato,
left hand pizzicato, various bow strokes, and harmonics, as well as the use of the whole range of
the instrument. In this piece we see Weinberg demonstrating his musical experience, knowledge,
and creativity.
Weinberg was forgotten for many years, but his legacy is becoming more and more
recognized. My hope is that interest in his music will continue to increase among musicians,
scholars, and audiences.
39
REFERENCES
Barsova, Inna A. “Semdesyat Vosem Dnei I Nochei V Zastenke: Compozitor Mieczysław

Vainberg”, Research Bulletin of the Moscow Conservatoire, 2014, no 2: 90-104.
Brooke, Caroline. "Soviet Musicians and the Great Terror." Europe-Asia Studies 54, no. 3 (May
2002): 397-413.
Czackis, Lloica. "Yiddish Tango: A Musical Genre?" European Judaism: A Journal for the New
Europe 42, no. 2 (2009): 107-21.
Dubins, Jerry. "Weinberg Violin Sonatas: No. 1, op. 12; No. 2, op. 15; No. 3, op. 37; No. 4, op.
39; No. 5, op. 53; No. 6, op. 136bis. Sonatina, op. 46." Fanfare 41, no. 2 (November
2017): 540-543.
Dvushilnaya, Inessa. “Nezvuchaschie Partituri: Holocaust v Tvorchestve Mieczysława

Vainberga.” Proceedings of the 19th International Annual Conference of Jewish Studies
2012, no. 1: 105-121.
Dvushilnaya, Inessa. “Mieczysław Weinberg i Belorusskaya Conservatoriya.” Vestsy BDAM

2010, no. 16: 62-67.
Elphick, Daniel. "Weinberg, Shostakovich and the Influence of Anxiety." Musical Times 155,
no. 1929 (Winter 2014): 49-62.
Fanning, David. Mieczysław Weinberg: In Search of Freedom. Holfheim: Wolke, 2010.
Fanning, David. “What counts is the Music: Mieczysław Weinberg’s life and work,” Osteuropa,
2010
Genina, Liana. “Vse Budet Horosho”: O Tvorchestve Vainberga, Sovetskaya Muzïka 1962, no. 8:
21-31.
Ginzburg, Lev. “The New Cello Concerto.” Sovetskaya Muzika 1957, no. 8: 55-59.
Glikman, Isaak. “Story of a Friendship: The Letters of Dmitry Shostakovich to Isaak Glikman,”
Cornell University Press: 2001
Goldman, Leah Daphne. "Art of Intransigence: Soviet Composers and Art Music Censorship,
1945-1957." Ph.D. diss., The University of Chicago, 2015.
Grunin, Elizabeth A. “A Performance Guide for the Unaccompanied Cello Compositions by

Mieczyslaw Weinberg,” (2015). Student Research, Creative Activity, and Performance -
School of Music. 95. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/musicstudent/95
Hakobian, Levon. Music of the Soviet Era: 1927-1991. New York: Routledge, 2017.
40
Herrala, Meri E. The Struggle for Control of Soviet Music From 1932 to 1948: Socialist Realism
Vs. Western Formalism. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2012.
Istel, Edgar, and Theodore Baker. "Rimsky-Korsakov, the Oriental Wizard." The Musical
Quarterly 15, no. 3 (1929): 388-414. http://www.jstor.org/stable/738328
Ivry, Benjamin. "How Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Music Survived Dictators: Russian Composer’s
Work Outlasted The Soviet Union - music." The Forward (November 26, 2010): 13.
NewsBank. https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/apps/news/document-
view?p=AWNB&docref=news/133B019115810140.
Kaluzhskiy, Mihaill. Victimized Music. Moscow: Klassika, 2007.
Kostorychenko, Gennadiy. Taynaya Politika Stalina. Moscow: Moscow State Institute of

International Relations, 2003.
Lustiger, Arno, and Roman Brackman. Stalin and the Jews: the Red book: the Tragedy of the
Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee and the Soviet Jews. New York: Enigma, 2003.
“Mieczysław Weinberg: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C minor, Op. 43.” YouTube video,
31:03. Posted by Rique Borges, December 13, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
SMPUSL30JqY&t=1416s.
Mazullo, Mark. "The Cycle as a Whole." In Shostakovich's Preludes and Fugues, 27-50. Yale
University Press, 2010. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1nph6c.7.
Nikitina, Lyudmila. The Symphonies of M. Weinberg. Moscow: Sovetsky Kompozitor, 1972.
Nikitina, Lyudmila. “Every Moment of My Life – is work.” Muzïkalnaya Akademiya 1994, no.
5: 17-24.
Nikolayev, Aleksey. “O Tvorchestve Wainberga.” Sovetskaya Muzïka 1960, no. 1: 40-47.
Ovchinnikov, Ilya. “Yemu pomeshalo sosedstvo s Shostakovichem: 85-let so dnya rozhdeniya

Mechislava Vaynberga.” Interview by Valentin Berlinsky. Gazeta 229 (8 December
2004): 13.
Pavlovsky, Anton. “Violonchelnie Konzerti, Posvyaschennie Mstislavu Rostropovichu.”

Muzikalnaya Zhizn 2012, no. 2: 92-94.
Reilly, Robert R., Jens F. Laurson, and Theodore Libbey. Surprised by Beauty: A Listener's
Guide to the Recovery of Modern Music. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016.
Reilly, Robert R. “Music: Light in the Dark—The Music of Mieczyslaw Vainberg.” Crisis
Magazine (February 1, 2000). https://www.crisismagazine.com/2000/music-light-in-the-
dark-the-music-of-mieczyslaw-vainberg.
41
Schwarz, Boris, and Malcolm Hamrick Brown. Russian and Soviet Music: Essays for Boris
Schwarz. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1984.
Taruskin, Richard. On Russian Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009.
Voskoboynikova, Anna. “Geroi ne Svoego Vremeni.” Musikalnaya Zhizn 2010, no. 11: 20-21.
Weinberg, Mieczysław, Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra, op. 43. New York: Peermusic,
2003.
Weinberg, Mieczysław, Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester, op. 43. New York: Peermusic
Classical, 2015.
Weinberg, Victoria. “Ya Nikogda ne Govorila ob Etom, no Seichas, Dumau, Prishlo Vremya.”
Interview by Elizaveta Blumina. Colta, February 26, 2016. http://www.colta.ru/articles/
music_classic/10232.
Yakubov, Manashir. “Vsu Zhizn Ya Zhadno Sochinyal Muziku.” Russkoe Utro no. 7 (1995): 16-
22.
Zolotaryov, Vasiliy. “Zametki o Shestoi Simfonii Vaynberga.” Muzika I Sovremennost 1965, no.
3: 170-185.
Zuk, Patrick. "Nikolay Myaskovsky and the Events of 1948." Music & Letters 93, no. 1 (2012):
61-85.
42
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Aleksandra Pereverzeva was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and she began studying cello at
the age of 7. Through her musical journey, she has been the recipient of many awards. While
attending St. Petersburg Conservatory from 2007 - 2012, she was a member of Baltic Sea
Philharmonic, which made guest appearances at festival openings at the Estonian Glasperlenspiel
Music Festival in Tartu, Bremen Music Festival, Usedom Music Festival in Peenemünde, and
Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin. Ms. Pereverzeva earned her Performer's Certificate from
Southern Methodist University, and Masters of Music in Cello Performance and Pedagogy from
Ohio University where she was a graduate teaching assistant, a member of the Klinder graduate
string quartet, and the cello section principal of the Ohio University Symphony Orchestra. From
August 2016 until May 2019 Aleksandra was a doctoral graduate assistant of Gregory Sauer at
Florida State University. She also served as a principal cello for the Florida State University
Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 she became a part of the Cosmos New Music ensemble, the group
won the FSU Annual Carnegie hall competition in December of 2017 and gave a full recital on
May 9th of 2018 in Weill Recital Hall. In the Fall 2018 Aleksandra was appointed as an adjunct
cello instructor at the University of West Florida and as a principal cello for the Pensacola
Symphony Orchestra.
43

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Florida State University

Mieczysław Weinberg: Concerto for Cello

MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG: CONCERTO FOR CELLO AND ORCHESTRA,

AND 24 PRELUDES FOR SOLO CELLO

A Treatise submitted to the

you to my editor and writing coach, Amy L. Bradley.

would not be able to complete my degree.

List of Music Examples ..................................................................................................................v

1. BIOGRAPHY AND MUSIC OF MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG ..............................................1

2. CELLO CONCERTO ...............................................................................................................10

3. 24 PRELUDES FOR SOLO CELLO ........................................................................................23

Biographical Sketch .......................................................................................................................43

Example 2.11. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, cadenza, mm. 482-497. ............................................18

Example 3.3. R. Schumann Cello Concerto, first movement, mm 1-14........................................25

BIOGRAPHY AND MUSIC OF MIECZYSŁAW WEINBERG

- Shostakovich on Weinberg’s opera The Passenger

Music of Mieczysław Weinberg

In 1957 in Moscow, renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich premiered a new cello

Example 2.1. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 1-9.

Example 2.2. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 59-62.

Another similarity with Shostakovich is the instrumentation of the concerto. In the

Movement II: Moderato

Example 2.3. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, second movement, mm. 1-14.

Example 2.4. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, second movement, mm. 27-31.

Movement III: Allegro

Example 2.5. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 1-7.

Example 2.6. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 8-20.

Example 2.7. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 45-56.

Example 2.8. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 91-96.

Example 2.9. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 245-263.

Example 2.10. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, third movement, mm. 315-327.

Example 2.11. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, cadenza, mm. 482-497.

Movement IV: Allegro

Example 2.12. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, fourth movement, mm. 1-10.

Example 2.14. Weinberg’s Cello Concerto, fourth movement, mm. 75-78.

24 PRELUDES FOR SOLO CELLO

Example 3.3. R. Schumann Cello Concerto, first movement, mm 1-14.

The prelude begins with a three-measure introductory phrase consisting of repetitive

Prelude No. 9 has an aggressive character. It is marked fortissimo with marcatissimo

Example 3.15. D. Shostakovich Cello Concerto, first movement, mm. 1-7.

Barsova, Inna A. “Semdesyat Vosem Dnei I Nochei V Zastenke: Compozitor Mieczysław

Dvushilnaya, Inessa. “Nezvuchaschie Partituri: Holocaust v Tvorchestve Mieczysława

Dvushilnaya, Inessa. “Mieczysław Weinberg i Belorusskaya Conservatoriya.” Vestsy BDAM

Fanning, David. Mieczysław Weinberg: In Search of Freedom. Holfheim: Wolke, 2010.

Grunin, Elizabeth A. “A Performance Guide for the Unaccompanied Cello Compositions by

Kaluzhskiy, Mihaill. Victimized Music. Moscow: Klassika, 2007.

Kostorychenko, Gennadiy. Taynaya Politika Stalina. Moscow: Moscow State Institute of

Nikitina, Lyudmila. The Symphonies of M. Weinberg. Moscow: Sovetsky Kompozitor, 1972.

Nikolayev, Aleksey. “O Tvorchestve Wainberga.” Sovetskaya Muzïka 1960, no. 1: 40-47.

Ovchinnikov, Ilya. “Yemu pomeshalo sosedstvo s Shostakovichem: 85-let so dnya rozhdeniya

Pavlovsky, Anton. “Violonchelnie Konzerti, Posvyaschennie Mstislavu Rostropovichu.”

Taruskin, Richard. On Russian Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009.

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