Weinberg’s style

Jewish music Weinberg often made stylistic allusions to his Jewish heritage. References to Klezmer abound in high-spirited movements like the Fourth Symphony’s finale. In stark contrast, melancholic laments appear in slower more reflective passages. Equally characteristic is his fondness for the solo clarinet and violin in his orchestral works. The Shostakovich impact

Weinberg was candid in declaring his indebtedness to Shostakovich (pictured above), but it’s fully absorbed into a highly personal lyrical style. There is also strong evidence that the Jewish element in Weinberg’s music had a profound impact on expanding Shostakovich’s own expressive horizons.

Structural concepts In his earlier chamber and orchestral works, Weinberg largely adopted Classical sonata and rondo forms. His later works are more open-ended and elliptical, and he explored extended one-movement compositions divided into several contrasting but often thematically related sections. Tonality, Dissonance and Texture Weinberg largely adhered to writing music with strongly defined tonal centres. From the late 1960s onwards his music explores a more dissonant style, in works like the Tenth Symphony for strings.