Mieczysław Weinberg is considered one of the great hidden treasures of the 20th century. His acknowledgment only came in 2019, the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Polish-born composer of Jewish origin. Capturing the painful complexity of Weinberg’s life during the era of totalitarianism, and his ability to communicate this experience through his music, the composer’s extraordinarily dramatic oeuvre opened up to the audience. His chamber opuses are perhaps the deepest and most sincere expression of these existential sorrows.

Weinberg wrote his Piano quintet in F minor, Op. 18 in 1940 at the age of 21. Although it is an early example of the composer’s work, the Quintet stands out for its extraordinary craftsmanship, is emotionally powerful, and is imbued with the emotion of the pain brought by war. Although the opus is thought to have similarities with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano quintet written in 1940, Weinberg’s work is highly monumental and original in its powerful emotional, textural and rhythmic contrasts, conveying profound anguish, depth of thought, and bitterly grotesque moods in a remarkably suggestive manner.

Weinberg’s chamber masterpiece is interpreted by Latvian pianist Vestards Šimkus and the Vilnius String Quartet.