July/August Update

Dear readers - apologies for any lack of input on this blog over recent weeks - my academic work has started to fill almost all of my time (see below!). However, here's a few links to relevant events, releases and general titbits from the world of Weinberg to keep you going.

Releases
Probably the biggest story in recent Weinberg releases is the Russian label Melodiya opening their archives further, with two new CDs that are well worth investigating:

Melodiya - Weinberg Symphonies 5 & 10

Melodiya - Weinberg Concertos for Cello, Violin, and Flute

Of course, all of this music has previously been released long ago by Melodiya, but such releases have since become collector's items. With these new editions with an affordable price and attractive packaging, there is much to enjoy. The star factor of such artists as Kondrashin, Rostropovich, Kogan, Barshai, and more, is the icing on the cake. 

Another CD that has been released recently sees Linus Roth continue his engagement with Weinberg's music, alongside Hartmann and a Shostakovich premiere recording. 

The Shostakovich work in question is an unfinished violin sonata (that had its UK premiere in Manchester, 2012). Roth pairs it with Hartmann's Concerto Funebre and Weinberg's Concertino and Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes. Available on amazon - here.

(Roth, of course, has spearheaded the recently founded International Weinberg Society - more info here).

Upcoming performances

First up, two upcoming runs of The Passenger, which continues to take the United States by storm.

The first will be in Michigan, running from 14 - 22 November. Further info here.

The Michigan Opera blog has an interesting entry on language problems in The Passenger - which you can find here.

After Michigan, Pountney's production can be seen in Florida, running 2 - 9 April 2016. More info here.

In the United Kingdom, the always-excellent Quatuor Danel will be performing Weinberg's Piano Quintet with Alexander Melnikov in Manchester on 2 October (more info here). Student tickets start from as low as £3(!). The Danels' upcoming season in Manchester also includes a Shostakovich quartet cycle in December, more details of which can be found on the Manchester University website.

For other upcoming performances, I've pulled the following listings from the Sikorski page for Weinberg:

CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET AND ORCHESTRA

25.11.2015, Osaka, JAPAN

SINFONIETTA NO. 1

30.01.2016, Limburg, GERMANY

SINFONIETTA NO. 1

31.01.2016, Marburg, GERMANY

THE IDIOT.

11.03.2016, Mannheim, GERMANY

THE IDIOT.

02.04.2016, Mannheim, GERMANY

THE IDIOT.

17.04.2016, Mannheim, GERMANY

SYMPHONY NO. 10 for string orchestra

09.05.2016, Zurich, SWITZERLAND

THE IDIOT.

16.05.2016, Mannheim, GERMANY

THE IDIOT.

30.06.2016, Mannheim, GERMANY

Clearly, The Idiot continues its success with German-speaking audiences - desperately awaiting its UK or US premiere. 

New Weinberg media
I hope readers will enjoy this cartoon of Weinberg - published in the Sovetskaya muzïka journal in 1949:

For a youtube preview of the Roth recording mentioned above, see this first movement from the Concertino:


My own work
This is where things become rather hectic. My PhD work is entering into the full-on writing and finishing stages, where everything becomes focused on getting the thesis done. My PhD notes are slowly threatening to take over my whole study:

And work is piling up around me elsewhere. However, with all that said, I do have two (rather small) publications in the final stages of publication, awaiting release.

The first is a review and introduction to Weinberg, called 'Stepping out from the Shadows: A Postcard from Weinberg Studies'. This short introduction has been written for the Shostakovich DSCH journal, and will be featured in their January 2016 issue - see here.

The second is a review of six Weinberg editions by the Sikorski publishers, written for Notes, the journal of the Music Librarian's Association. This resulted in me receiving a shipment of Weinberg scores to critique and review:

The resulting article will be featured in an upcoming issue of Notes - which I'll be sure to link to here when I receive information.

Outside of those, the PhD thesis progresses. There is one more chapter to write, then I will have a full draft of the thesis. With that, work plunges into edits and revisions, with an eye on a early 2016 hand-in date. Fingers crossed!