Weinberg: Dawn; Symphony No. 12 BBC Philharmonic Orchestra & John Storgårds

• Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919 - 1996): Dawn, Op. 60:
• 1 Weinberg: Dawn, Op. 60 17:18
• Symphony No. 12, Op. 114:
• 2 Weinberg: Symphony No. 12, Op. 114: I. Allegro moderato 20:20
• 3 Weinberg: Symphony No. 12, Op. 114: II. Allegretto 07:47
• 4 Weinberg: Symphony No. 12, Op. 114: III. Adagio 10:04
• 5 Weinberg: Symphony No. 12, Op. 114: IV. Allegro 18:01
• Total Runtime 01:13:30

Info for Weinberg: Dawn; Symphony No. 12

Every five years the Soviet Union celebrated the anniversary of the October 1917 Revolution with large-scale public events, to which the country’s leading artists were expected to contribute. Mieczyslaw Weinberg, like his friend Shostakovich, enjoyed mixed fortunes with his efforts. The symphonic poem Dawn (Zarya), Op. 60, dedicated to the fortieth anniversary of the Revolution, seems to have remained unperformed during his lifetime, despite its ideologically irreproachable content. Its première was finally given in the BBC studios in Manchester, on 15 May 2019, by the BBC Philharmonic under John Storgårds. When Shostakovich died, on 9 August 1975, it had been five years since Weinberg composed his last symphony.

To commemorate his friend and mentor (whom he regarded as the greatest symphonist of his age) Weinberg decided on a full-scale, four movement, non-programmatic work as his personal tribute. Symphony No. 12, written between December 1975 and February 1976 is the longest of Weinberg’s purely instrumental symphonies. Kirill Kondrashin was due to conduct the première, but his last-minute insistence on large-scale cuts and changes to the score was taken by Weinberg as a great insult, and ended their relationship. The first performance was finally given as a radio broadcast on 13 October 1979, (probably) by the USSR TV and Radio Symphony Orchestra under Maxim Shostakovich. This is the first of a series of Weinberg Symphony recordings with the BBC Philharmonic and John Storgårds.

BBC Philharmonic
John Storgårds, conductor

John Storgårds
“The Finnish conducting miracle” is the phrase used of the fantastic host of talented conductors to come out of sparsely-populated Finland over the last few decades. And from that crowd John Storgårds stands out. He has a dual career as conductor and violin virtuoso, and he is a pioneer in contemporary music – an idealistic and eclectic musician.

From the autumn of 2008 John Storgårds became the new chief conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic, one of Scandinavia’s best and most tradition-rich orchestras. He is also chief conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic and artistic director of the magical Lapland Chamber Orchestra, which gives some of Europe’s most imaginative concerts north of the Arctic Circle.

Abroad John Storgårds has appeared with international orchestras such as l’Orchestre de Paris, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has appeared in the USA, Asia and Australia and with leading ensembles specializing in contemporary music such as the Parisian Ensemble Intercontemporain. He has recorded a succession of CDs and can be heard for example as a soloist in Dacapo’s recording of Sunleif Rasmussen’s Violin Concerto no. 2, Songs of Seasons.

This album contains no booklet.