Aptly searing accounts remind us of a composer’s gifts
The Strad Issue: July 2025
Description: Aptly searing accounts remind us of a composer’s gifts
Musicians: Nikolay Shugaev (cello) Tyuman Philharmonic Orchestra/Yuri Medianik
Works: Weinberg: Cello Concertino; Cello Concerto; Cello Fantasia
Catalogue number: NAXOS 8574679
A life chiselled in sorrow: Weinberg’s war traumas and subsequently turbulent relationship with the Soviet regime made a melancholic hue inevitable in his works. Nowhere, though, is it more eloquently expressed than in the Cello Concertino and Cello Concerto. Both works use similar thematic material, the former being partnered by strings, and a somewhat condensed version of the latter scored for larger orchestral forces.
The hauntingly tender opening melody tugs at the heartstrings in both. Differentiating between the two versions of the themes is a tall order, however, though there is a greater degree of intimacy in the breathtakingly painful opening to the Concertino, whereas in the orchestral version, it becomes more projected and furiously fervent. Nikolay Shugaev offers a Russian style of playing, much in the tradition of Rostropovich, the searing intensity of his approach proving compelling. The muted melody which begins the second movement of pieces is coloured by folk and Klezmer style, which Shugaev depicts with foot-tapping insistence.
The Cello Fantasia is a wonderful work, full of lilting and poignant folk melodies. That such marvellous music remains inaccessible to prospective performers and lacks a published cello-and-piano reduction is inexplicable. But perhaps Shugaev’s evocative reading, supported by neat orchestral playing and a clear recording, will persuade someone to make it more widely available.
JOANNE TALBOT
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