Music behind the Iron Curtain
Weinberg and his Polish Contemporaries

Complements the ongoing revival of Mieczys?aw Weinberg's music and explains its unique blend of Polish and Soviet Russian influences.

Daniel Elphick (Author)

9781108737760, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 March 2022

316 pages, 1 b/w illus. 13 tables 74 music examples
24.3 x 16.9 x 1.7 cm, 0.538 kg

'The powerful music and fascinating biography engagingly described by the author, make this book recommended reading for anyone interested in the music created behind the Iron Curtain.' Beata Boles?awska-Lewandowska, Transposition

Mieczys?aw Weinberg left his family behind and fled his native Poland in September 1939. He reached the Soviet Union, where he become one of the most celebrated composers. He counted Shostakovich among his close friends and produced a prolific output of works. Yet he remained mindful of the nation that he had left. This book examines how Weinberg's works written in Soviet Russia compare with those of his Polish contemporaries; how one composer split from his national tradition and how he created a style that embraced the music of a new homeland, while those composers in his native land surged ahead in a more experimental vein. The points of contact between them are enlightening for both sides. This study provides an overview of Weinberg's music through his string quartets, analysing them alongside Polish composers. Composers featured include Bacewicz, Meyer, Lutos?awski, Panufnik, Penderecki, Górecki, and a younger generation, including Szyma?ski and Knapik.

1. Weinberg in Warsaw
2. The war
3. Socialist realism and socrealizm
4. Avant-garde(s)
5. Return and retreat
6. Late style(s)
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Jewish studies [JFSR1], European history [HBJD], Individual composers & musicians, specific bands & groups [AVH], 20th century & contemporary classical music [AVGC6], Music reviews & criticism [AVC]