Not surprisingly, I’ve learned a lot from writing this blog. Sometimes it lets me dig a little deeper into music I know and love. Other times, like today, I discover something completely new to me. The story of Jacob Weinberg is a great testament to the power of music and the resilience of the human spirit.

Weinberg was born in the Ukraine in 1879, and educated as a lawyer in Moscow. He preferred practicing piano over practicing law, and became a musician. In the early 20th century, nationalism was a common theme in Art Music, and there was a booming interest in folk melodies. Russia had its own group of nationalistic composers, but this group would have excluded Jewish music and composers due to growing anti-Semitic feelings throughout Europe. So, Russian Jews formed their own nationalistic Art Music movement, which Weinberg helped to found. The Bolshevik Revolution resulted in the killing and imprisonment of thousands of Jews; Weinberg fled to Palestine, where he composed the first Hebrew opera. He used the earnings from this opera to move to New York, where he spent the rest of his life as a performer, composer, and teacher.

Weinberg’s String Quartet op. 55 is a perfect example of the Jewish Art Music movement – here, sacred melodies associated with Rosh Hashanah are presented in a concert form. I read here that the sacred melody is the ma’ariv, but I will admit to not knowing this tune, nor can I find it in the piece without some real time and research (which I intend to do later). If you know this melody, and can identify it, please let me know!

I heard a great anecdote while I was studying at the music conservatory: during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a bass player was sharing an elevator at the conservatory with a woman who was completely out of sorts over the impending doom of nuclear war. “What if they bomb us today? What will we do? What will happen to our world?” She went on and on, working herself into a frenzy of hysteria and anxiety. Finally, the bass player looked over at her and said, “Lady, I have to practice,” left the elevator and walked to his practice room.

Some of us are born to be social activists. Some, like me, are not. The last few weeks in the US have become pretty intense. I despise all this ugliness. Everybody is guilty of it. I find myself searching for and needing some beauty to neutralize the poison. I don’t know this cellist, but I know he’s like me. From his facebook post:

“With all the recent stuff that has happened in society, it has really taken a toll on me mentally/emotionally. My heart is hurting and there’s nothing I can really say. So since music is the thing I know best I figured I’d just play. Here’s a bit of Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. “

Barber’s incredibly famous Adagio for Strings has kept his name among the top 20th century American composers. It is originally a movement from his String Quartet; upon hearing it for the first time, he immediately knew he had written a real winner. He arranged it for many different ensembles, but it is best known as a work for string orchestra or chorus (using the text “Agnus Dei“). It was played at the funerals of JFK, FDR, Albert Einstein, and many more, and is used in numerous video games, TV shows, and movies (most memorably, Platoon).

A few words about Strings. Of all the modern instruments humans play, the violin family was the earliest to reach (relative) perfection of construction, around 1600. (Side note: the double bass is not in the violin family, but instead a “leftover” from the earlier viol family, and has a different tuning and body shape, among other things.) Strings are the reason we have symphony orchestras. Their range is massive, and they sound consistently good in any register. They don’t tire quickly (compared to winds or brass players), and the ear doesn’t tire of their sound. They are equally adept at slow, sustained music as they are with fast, agile passages. It’s no wonder that many composers enjoy writing for String Quartet. It’s like a completely blank canvas, or a mound of clay that can be shaped into practically anything.

I love spending Saturday mornings with a cup of tea and a String Quartet. So, here’s Beethoven‘s in C minor. Enjoy!