Umeå Symphony Orchestra, Thord Svedlund - Weinberg: Chamber Symphonies 1 & 4 (1998)

Mieczyslaw Weinberg's oeuvre is slowly starting to make its way into the international market. This 2009 Alto disc, a repackaged remastering of a 1998 Olympia disc, pairs the Polish-Russian composer's First and Fourth chamber symphonies. The First is a four-movement work for string orchestra from 1986 and the Fourth is a work with four-movements-in-one for string orchestra and clarinet from 1992. Both receive wholly dedicated works from the Umeå Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Thord Svedlund. The First is a lean and occasionally hard-driving work that is never less than appealing in the Soviet modernist manner. The Fourth is a much more caustic work with touches of melancholy in its themes. The Umeå musicians and Svedlund turn in performances of great dash that make persuasive cases for each piece. Though this music is not for everyone, listeners who enjoy Shostakovich's chamber symphonies will likely enjoy Weinberg's.