Interview My diary is in my work, my music Weinberg through the eyes of Tommy Persson By Henny van der Groep or many years Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919–1996) was one of the more neglected com- Fposers in the Soviet Union. One of the underlying causes was the solitary life he led combined with a reticence to promote his work. Weinberg was a modest human being, and for a long time his skill as composer was over- shadowed by that of Shostakovich, who nonetheless wholly appreciated Weinberg as a colleague and friend. In the past few years the name Wein- berg has at last begun to appear in concert programmes on a regular basis. Tommy Persson, 2017. Photo © Egbert Baars The DSCH Journal had the plea- sure of meeting and discussing with wide range of deeply felt sentiments and he helped me obtain a complete one of the key, yet low profile people and thoughts in an omnipresent, catalogue of Melodiya recordings, a behind the resurgence of interest in pure, humanistic voice. It all began in very thick book issued in 1975. But Weinberg’s music and who, together 1972. I was an admirer of Shostakov- I failed to get hold of any of the LPs with Weinberg’s family, colleagues ich’s music and tried to read anything with recordings of Weinberg’s works and friends has been instrumental written about him, and I bought listed in that book. Among them were in raising the profile of Weinberg’s many of his records. I was really Symphony no. 5 dedicated to and music around the world. This inter- excited to discover the composer performed by Kirill Kondrashin, the view with Tommy Persson took place within the entire universe of music. Flute Concerto no. 1, and the Fourth after the 2017 International Shosta- In 1972 there appeared a book by and Fifth Piano Sonatas. kovich Days in Gohrisch, Germany. Boris Schwarz, Music and Musical Born in 1945, Tommy Persson Life in Soviet Russia 1917–1970. It’s DSCH: What about the Children’s worked as a judge in the Gothenburg now a fairly well-known book and it Notebooks or his songs? District Court in Sweden (1971), was in there I found the name Mois- dealing with all kinds of civil and sei Vainberg (as it was spelled). I had TP: No, none of these works were criminal cases before retiring in 2010. never heard the name nor the music. I in the catalogue, only some of his Tommy has a longstanding passion read he was a talented composer, that orchestral, chamber and instrumen- for Russian music in general although he had composed a lot of music but tal works. I found some second-hand Shostakovich has always taken a spe- that he was more or less unknown in LPs in Great Britain, but they were cial place in his heart. Later he came the West. From Boris Schwarz’s book too expensive. So it took a little more across Weinberg through a book I got the impression that Weinberg time. In December 1976, just before about Russian music, and today might be one of those composers to Christmas, EMI had issued an LP Weinberg’s music is literally a part take over the symphonic music man- with Melodiya recordings of three of his daily life. tle after Shostakovich, and so I tried trumpet concertos, one of them com- to find some recordings of his music. posed by Weinberg in 1966–67. It was DSCH: What does Weinberg’s music played by the Bolshoi Theatre Orches- mean to you and how did you first DSCH: This was in Sweden? tra conducted by Algis Zuraitis; the come in contact with Weinberg’s soloist was the legendary Timofey music? TP: At that time there was a very Dokshitser, to whom Weinberg ded- good record shop in Gothenburg. I icated the concerto. I sent for the LP TP: To my mind Weinberg’s music knew the manager, a friendly man immediately and I was completely has the rare ability to communicate a who was familiar with classical music, fascinated by this concerto. DSCH JOURNAL • July 2018 • Nº 49 • 37 My diary is in my work, my music • Henny van der Groep DSCH: A funny piece of music! listeners could send their request to Symphony Orchestra conducted by have for example a movement of a Vladimir Fedoseyev. In fact, different TP: It’s certainly funny but combined symphony played. I had previously Russian composers had composed with dark undertones. There are quo- written to the radio station in regard music commemorating Shostakov- tations from Mendelssohn’s Wedding of Shostakovich’s music. This time ich. In addition, I received a record March and also a quote from the I asked them to play something by of Weinberg’s First Solo Sonata for Golden Cockerel by Rimsky Korsa- Weinberg. Beforehand I checked with Viola, dedicated to and performed kov. It has a hectic first movement, someone at the gramophone archive by Fyodor Druzhinin. On the other which I think might have inspired of Radio Sweden and learnt that they side of that LP there was a Sonata for Shostakovich when he wrote the first had some LPs with works by Wein- Viola and Piano by a friend of Wein- movement of his Fifteenth Symphony. berg, mostly Melodiya recordings, berg, Grigory Frid. In my view, Frid The excited mood, they have much in some of them issued on the Ameri- is a composer who should be widely common, in my view. can Westminster label. I managed to known in the West—he is so rarely In April 1977 my wife Ann-Chris- get the radio channel to play some of performed. Maria also managed to tine and I went to Paris, where I found the works on these LPs, such as the get hold of some second-hand LPs a wonderful record shop with thou- Fifth Symphony. Then people who with the Kondrashin recordings of sands of LPs. were in charge of this programme the Fifth Symphony and the Violin took notice and they wrote to me to Concerto (which I already had) and DSCH: You recall any specific say how they found this composer the now famous Moldavian Rhapsody recordings? interesting and thanked me for my in the reduction for violin and piano! requests: “It widened the scope of My friend in Leningrad also helped TP: Yes, I found two LPs, both the listeners.” At the end of 1980 my me to get Weinberg’s address. I had Melodiya recordings reissued by wife and I went to Leningrad for a one listened to his music and admired Le Chant du Monde. One had the week stay. I brought with me a list of it over and over again; yet I could Fourth Symphony and the Violin LPs from the Melodiya catalogue and not get enough of it. I discovered Concerto performed by the Mos- went to the big Melodiya record shop that his birthday was on the 8th of cow Philharmonic Orchestra under on Nevsky Prospect, but the shop-as- December, so I thought—write to Kirill Kondrashin with Leonid sistants just shrugged their shoulders: him, why shouldn’t I?! I remember Kogan as soloist. On the other LP “Weinberg? No, no, not heard of him”. when Shostakovich died, on the 9th the then-young Alexander Brussi- And then I got somewhat frustrated of August. I heard about it on Radio lovsky performed works by different and asked, “well do you have any LPs Sweden the next morning. It was an composers, among them Weinberg’s with works by Shostakovich?” They extremely depressing day for me and Second Solo Sonata for Violin, dedi- had only one double-LP, the Lenin- I cried. I felt that the world had lost a cated to Mikhail Fikhtengolts. It was grad (Seventh) Symphony. I spoke great composer. That’s why I decided the same sonata that we heard at this to our guide from Sweden and told that I shouldn’t make the same mis- year’s festival in Gohrisch [2017]: a her how disappointing it would be to take with Weinberg as I had with fascinating piece of music. come home empty handed although I Shostakovich by not writing, telling To me the musical language of the had been in Shostakovich’s native city. him how much his music meant to Fourth Symphony and Violin Con- She said: “Maybe there’s a solution—I me. I knew that Weinberg admired certo was very communicative, in have a friend who lives here with Shostakovich’s music, but I didn’t the same way as I experienced when her father: they are great admirers know about their close friendship, listening to Shostakovich’s music. Of of the Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda. only that they knew each other and course, I didn’t understand every- Maybe you can exchange some LPs had a clear connection. I bought three thing, but I was struck by this musical with them, Gedda for Weinberg.” LPs with music by Shostakovich, one language. I was extremely happy to The next morning, the last day of our of which included the Thirteenth find a “new” composer. visit, we met a young woman named Symphony, as I had read that Wein- Maria and we exchanged addresses. berg was one of those few people who DSCH: What did you do next? Each of us would seek out LPs— knew about this symphony before from Sweden and from Russia. She its rehearsals began. Weinberg had TP: I tried to find more recordings helped me to get hold of some LPs heard it at Shostakovich’s home in including works by Weinberg, but with music by Weinberg, for example the company of Rostropovich, Galina it was impossible.