SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO . 8
Venzago , Stenz , McGegan , Bergman , Orbelian , and Lintu .
Among his solo recordings , Soli Deo Gloria , are his own transcriptions of the music of J . S . Bach for trumpet and organ . Fanfare Magazine wrote of his album ; “ This is , hands down , the most magnificent , eloquent , communicative trumpet playing I have ever heard in my life , and I have a whole shelf full of trumpet CDs by virtuosos past and present against which I am comparing it .” He recently completed another volume of his own transcriptions , that of Brahms , Schumann and Schubert , recorded at George Lucas ’ s Skywalker Ranch . His first solo recording was issued from Russia with the St . Petersburg Symphony , that of the Weinberg Trumpet Concerto , which he recently performed with Jonathon Heyward in Germany .
In 2014 , he launched what was to become the Foundation for the Future of Classical Music , a research institute to examine the complexities of making classical music institutions financially viable while preserving their artistic mission . The website www . ffclasscialmusic . org has garnered much attention in the international press . For his work in this area , he was invited into the Academy of Philosophy and Letters as a board member and has presented papers during its conferences . His personal website is www . andrewbalio . com .
As a teacher , Mr . Balio has taught master classes regularly in Russia , Poland and Italy , the Conservatorio Nacional of Mexico , as well as in Brazil , Chile , Scandanavia , Israel , Japan and the United States . He has recorded for the Sony , RCA , Angel , Phillips , Delos , Naxos , and Teldec labels .
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
By Catherine Case
Mieczysław Weinberg
Born December 8 , 1919 in Warsaw , Poland Died February 26 , 1996 in Moscow , Russia
TRUMPET CONCERTO
[ 1967 ]
Mieczysław Weinberg grew up in Warsaw where his father worked as a composer and violinist in a Jewish theater . As a young man , Weinberg played the piano and conducted in the same theater until the onset of the Second World War . In 1939 , Weinberg left his family and fled the German occupation of Poland . After walking for days , he crossed into the Soviet Union and eventually enrolled in composition classes at the Minsk Conservatory . Many years later , he learned that his parents and sister had perished in the Trawniki concentration camp .
Weinberg first came upon the music of Shostakovich while studying in Minsk and likened the experience to “ the discovery of a continent .” After sending a score of his First Symphony to Shostakovich , the elder composer invited Weinberg to come live in Moscow where they became lifelong friends . Both composers came under fire when the Soviet Union attacked artistic freedoms and denounced many influential composers for their Westernstyle music . Weinberg was imprisoned under false pretenses in 1953 and released later that year following Stalin ’ s death .
For a time , Weinberg made a living composing for the theater and circus , and it is easy to see this influence in his Trumpet Concerto . The work consists of three movements : Etudes , Episodes , and Fanfares . The opening movement is rhythmically lively and energetic . The darker middle movement is led by the orchestra while the muted trumpet offers a gentle melody . Other instruments , the flute especially , emerge from the texture with colorful flourishes . The final movement begins without interruption , the trumpet ’ s repeated notes turning into the “ Wedding March ” fanfare from Mendelssohn ’ s A Midsummer Night ’ s Dream . It sounds almost joyous , but an eerie tension remains . A stilted waltz sputters to a halt with flashes of light from the harp , celeste , and percussion . After much soloistic virtuosity , the work ends wittily with little actual fanfare .
Instrumentation Three flutes , three oboes , three clarinets , three bassoons , four horns , timpani , bass drum , snare drum , vibraphone , wood blocks , cymbals , xylophone , tambourine , whip , glockenspiel , chimes , celeste , trumpet solist , and strings .
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