Moisey Samuilovich VAINBERG (1919-1996)

Violin Concerto, Op. 67

 

Nikolay MYASKOVSKY (1881-1950)

Violin Concerto, Op. 44

 

Ilya Grubert (violin)

Russian Philharmonic Orchestra/ Dmitri Yablonsky

 

A contemporary of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, Myaskovsky’s outlook was more retrospective than that of his progressive colleagues: his music harks back to Balakirev, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov in its lyricism and epic nature.  His accessible Violin Concerto is a fascinating document of the creative ground between modernism and populism in Russian music.

 

Moisey (Mieczysław) Vainberg (Weinberg) was a Russian composer of Polish origin.  Influenced by Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Myaskovsky, he was given to writing programmatic, even autobiographical works.  His violin concerto is a technically and energetically difficult work; the violin is rarely silent throughout the half-hour work.

 

Naxos 8557194