Many of the Polish-Soviet composer
Mieczyslaw Weinberg
's works found inspiration in those of his mentor,
Shostakovich
, although
Weinberg
almost always contributed something of value of his own. The solo cello sonatas (and
's other sonatas for solo instruments) are an exception.
wrote four of these, but unlike
Bach
's, they were not a set; they appeared over more than 25 years. They nevertheless have a common style, and this does not resemble
's either, although cellist
Mario Brunello
's 1600 Italian instrument, perhaps his Baroque background, and a few Bachian references may suggest a connection. Instead, the pieces have a strongly narrative quality.
Brunello
writes: "I conceive the four sonatas as four stories, comedies, tales, which autonomously explore the personality of a hypothetical protagonist -- maybe the composer himself?" It may seem a tall order to sustain interest in a structure of this kind over, say, the 11 and a half minutes of the Allegretto finale of the
Sonata No. 2 for solo cello, Op. 121
, but sample it;
's language here is quite expressive. He is aided by the clear sound of a space called the Antiruggine in the composer's home base of Castelfranco. These pieces have been recorded from time to time, but they are hardly common, and cellists especially should get to know them. ~ James Manheim