Šostakovič / Weinberg / ProkofievShostakovich / Weinberg / Prokofiev

The year 1936 was a tragically fatal one for Dmitri Shostakovich, Stalin attended a performance of The Macbeth Years and subjected the composer to devastating criticism in the daily Pravda. From then on, Shostakovich lived in stress and fear for his life. Mieczyslaw Weinberg emigrated from Poland to the Soviet Union, where he befriended Shostakovich. The Violoncello Concerto dates from the post-Stalin period, and in it Weinberg transparently claims his origins by quoting Jewish melodies. After the tempestuous and avant-garde Symphonies Nos. 2 – 4, Sergei Prokofiev presents himself as a poet and lyricist in the Fifth. However, Prokofiev’s proverbial sarcasm is not missing…