Silvestrov: Symphony for Violin and Orchestra 'Widmung'; Postludium for Piano and Orchestra in Bloomington, MN

The music of
Valentin Silvestrov
, exiled from his Ukrainian homeland after the Russian attack in 2022, has gained international attention in one of the few positive results of that terrible war.
Silvestrov
is still active, but the works here are older; the
Symphony for violin and orchestra ("Widmung")
was composed amidst the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1990 and 1991, and the
Postludium for piano and orchestra
is older still and more influenced by the dictates of atonality, from 1984. Both works, however, are characteristic
, and the listener new to his music might well pick this release from the
Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra
and conductor
Christopher Lyndon-Gee
, the latter a primary Western champion of
's music, as a starting point.
"Widmung"
means dedication, but as
Lyndon-Gee
notes in his excellent annotation, "this is not a 'dedication' to anyone in particular. It is a homage to the human race; to the fundamental life-force; to the tragedies that repeat themselves over and over in our existence." In this work,
's mature language is developed in full, with fragmentary textures, suggesting the chaotic variety of contending forces in today's world, finally coalescing into something calmer. The work was composed for
Gidon Kremer
, who has recorded it, but that recording is difficult to find, and violinist
Janusz Wawrowski
does it full justice here. The work is not about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but the music seems relevant to that event, as does, indeed,
's output in general. ~ James Manheim