Weinberg considered it his moral duty to write about war and the appalling things that befell people in the 20th century, as many of his works relate to this theme.
Composer Biography
Dmitri Shostakovich, a renowned Russian composer, was instrumental in bringing Weinberg to Moscow after being impressed by his early major works.
Historical Context
Weinberg fled Warsaw in September 1939 when the German Army invaded Poland and later learned his family was murdered in the Trawniki concentration camp.
Historical Context
Weinberg was arrested in 1953 under suspicion of involvement in a plot, as he did not align his art with the ideological themes of the Stalin regime.
Composer Biography
Mieczysław Weinberg, born in Warsaw in 1919 to a Jewish musical family, was a child prodigy who enrolled at the Warsaw Conservatory at age twelve.
Composition History
Weinberg's 21 Easy Pieces for Piano, Op. 34, from 1946, incorporate Russian fairy-tale characters like Baba-Yaga and Old Man Frost, giving them a Slavic connection.
Performer Biography
Elisaveta Blumina, the pianist on this album, is an ECHO Classic award winner known for her interpretations of 20th and 21st-century music, and is currently spearheading the rediscovery of Mieczysław Weinberg.
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