New Article - 'Weinberg, Shostakovich, and the influence of "Anxiety"'

Dear readers -

It gives me great pleasure to announce the publication of my first academic article, 'Weinberg, Shostakovich, and the influence of Anxiety'. It appears in the Winter issue of The Musical Times, alongside several esteemed authors from Musicology, including Barry Cooper, Arnold Whittall, and Leo Black. Details for ordering copies can be found on the Musical Times website - here.

The article explores instances of mutual influence in the string quartets of Weinberg and of Shostakovich. While Shostakovich's influence on Weinberg is apparent on first listen, the reverse process is more subtle - and is particularly apparent in some of Shostakovich's earlier quartets. After several examples, the case of Weinberg and Shostakovich is explored in the context of theories of influence itself - especially Harold Bloom's The Anxiety of Influence. I conclude that Weinberg and Shostakovich's relationship of mutual influence is a rather unique one in the history of music.

This publication is the first extended article on Weinberg to appear in an English-language, non-specialised journal. As such, I hope that it can provide an impetus for many further discussions of Weinberg's music in academic print.