Here are the reasons you will want to add this disc to your collection: it is a Gidon Kremer disc, it is an ECM release, it is a major contribution to the recorded legacy of Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1986). Kremer is one of the finest violinists working today. In addition to being a brilliant musician Kremer is an ambassador of new music and an excellent curator. Any release by him deserves serious attention and , while this is not the first recording of this music it will likely be definitive.

Here are the reasons you will want to add this disc to your collection: it is a Gidon Kremer disc, it is an ECM release, it is a major contribution to the recorded legacy of Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1986). The Latvian artist Gidon Kremer is one of the finest violinists working today. In addition to being a brilliant musician Kremer is an ambassador of new music and an excellent curator. Any release by him deserves serious attention and , while this is not the first recording of this music it will likely be seen as a definitive document. In fact the listener would be well served to check out Kremer’s other Weinberg recordings. True to his mission, Kremer is nearly single handedly repairing the years of neglect of this Soviet era composer.

This fabulous disc, not the only recording of these impressive works, will likely be seen as the definitive document. It is the complete solo violin sonatas by this composer (though solo viola and solo cello works also exist in his oeuvre). Weinberg was a prolific composer, leaving 22 symphonies, 17 String Quartets, opera, ballet, chamber music, and solo piano music. Despite this large and substantive output this Warsaw born, Jewish composer (who controversially converted to Orthodox Christianity two years before his death) was surprisingly little known and appreciated during his lifetime.

The solo violin repertoire, aside from exercises not meant for public performance, begins with Bach in his three sonatas and three partitas are the gold standard and the litmus test for performers (Are there any serious violinists who haven’t recorded the Bach?). There are contemporary and late romantic examples of substantial solo violin compositions by Ysaye, Bartok, and others as well as quite a number of solo violin works written after 1950. A single musician (without electronics) playing for an audience is a daunting thing for both performer and listener. In fact there is great comfort in being able to listen to these complex works repeatedly in the listener’s own sound space.

The three sonatas are presented in reverse order of composition. The 3rd (Opus 126) dates from 1979, the 2nd (Opus 95) from 1967 and the first (Op. 82) from 1964 (yes, there are typos). And despite significant differences in the overall structures (3 is in one large movement, 2 in 7 movements with titles suggestive of some external, experimental program, and the first in 5 movements closer to the Bach models) there is a consistency of style. They are, to these ears, largely tonal with a modicum of extended techniques, though all seem to be a technical challenge. They are major works that will require multiple hearings for a proper evaluation. Meanwhile, just enjoy them. They’re glorious.

Even though they span some 15 years these are somewhat similar in their sound worlds. They are mid to late career pieces that show the composer at the height of his powers. As with previous releases, Kremer’s choices are always convincingly substantive. His service to music in general and his advocacy of the unjustly neglected such that deserves recognition of the U.N. Kremer here seems at the height of his powers and his choice to record these works is manifestly justified by his performances.

Thanks also to Manfred Eicher and his visionary label whose releases consistently range from the interesting to the visionary. This release is more than interesting.