Mieczys?aw Weinberg: String Quartets Nos 1, 16-17

Description

“The String Quartet that Weinberg completed in May 1937 bears no resemblance to the music that young Warsaw composers were fascinated with at that time. It is devoid of any clear echoes of Szymanowski’s style or of neoclassicism, the latter being most appealing to the younger generation of composers at the time. It seems that Weinberg was writing from the perspective of a pianist. The result was a three-movement cycle with a slow central movement and a dance-like finale that brings back themes from the beginning of the piece. Weinberg wrote his String Quartet No. 16 (completed in January 1981) at the same time he was working on his Symphony No. 16. While the Symphony was penned in memory of his mother, the Quartet was composed with his sister in mind. He had parted with his loved ones forever in September 1939. His parents and sister were unable to get out of Warsaw in time and four years later they perished in Trawniki concentration camp. “Many of my works refer to the war” explained Weinberg. “But it wasn’t me who chose that topic. It was dictated by fate, the tragic fate of those who were dear to me. I believe it’s my moral obligation to write about the war and the terrible suffering that our century brought upon people.”