Recording of the Week, Chamber music by Mieczysław Weinberg

Although of course it is still only October, and therefore plenty of time for things to change over the next couple of months, the current silver-medal holder when it comes to our best-selling recordings of 2019 is a splendid Deutsche Grammophon release from last May of two symphonies by the Polish-born Soviet composer, Mieczysław Weinberg. Contributing to that disc was the violinist Gidon Kremer, who now returns with a selection of Weinberg's chamber music, presenting three pieces from different stages of the composer's life.

We kick off with the Three Pieces for violin and piano. Stylistically, the booklet notes suggest inspiration from Weinberg's Polish compatriots such as Szymanowski (and even Chopin in the choice of Nocturne as the first piece's title), but for me there's also a breezy, almost jazzy feel to some of the harmonies and rhythms that, had I not known what it was, would have caused me to guess at a composer such as Poulenc or Honegger.

Having said that, these pieces exude such an assured, confident, compositional voice that I must admit I was somewhat astonished to discover that they were completed when Weinberg was only fifteen, and indeed before he had received any formal training. It helps when you have someone like Kremer performing your music: he brings a commanding virtuosity to his playing, easily matched by pianist Yulianna Avdeeva. The middle-movement Scherzo brings out a deft lightness of touch from both performers, mercurially shifting moods between an implied darkness and a playful cheekiness to the way they bring the movement to a close. Similarly, in the third of the pieces, entitled "Dream about a Doll", Kremer and Avdeeva are experts at bringing out the melancholy and creepiness beneath the surface.

Dating from 1982, the Sixth Violin Sonata is a much later work, and indeed is stylistically worlds away from the Three Pieces. The very opening, with its initial, restless passage for unaccompanied violin, is much more austere, and yet elsewhere in the sonata there are still moments of great beauty, particularly the start of the second movement, with its yearning violin melody set against some sensuous piano harmonies.

When I reviewed the orchestral disc back in May, I tried to sum up Weinberg's style as having a heavy dose of Shostakovich about it, and this is certainly true also of the Piano Trio, written ten years later than the Three Pieces, after Weinberg had fled Nazi-occupied Poland and moved to Moscow. I must say I think this is quite a stunning piece, which for me is the highlight of the disc.

In the second-movement Toccata, for instance, Kremer, Avdeeva, and cellist Giedrė Dirvanauskaitė throw themselves into every note with grit, gusto, and an impressively unfailing energy. The third-movement Poem is also extraordinary, with a turbulent piano opening giving way to a tender series of chord progressions, after which some delicate violin pizzicatos adorn an eloquently expressive melody from the cello. Again, all three players are adept at navigating the music's changing moods, with a more tempestuous middle section contrasting with the return of the placid, serene piano chords from the movement's opening. Everything on this recording is masterfully played and highly recommended, but for me this performance of the Piano Trio is quite outstanding and, as the cliché goes, worth the price of the disc alone!