Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-96)
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Berliner Philharmonie, Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße, Berlin
Debut week for Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla with the Berliner Philharmoniker, opening with one of the Suites compiled by Mieczysław Weinberg (a Pole who escaped the Nazis in 1939, went to Soviet Russia, and was befriended by Shostakovich) from his 1955 ballet score The Golden Key, colourful, charming, humorous and cartoony music, vivid in characterisation, played enjoyably, listened to in the same way.
It seems that the three movements of John Williams’s recent Concerto for Emanuel Ax (given its European premiere in Berlin two nights ago) are respectively spirited in the styles of Art Tatum, Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson, opening with a demonstrative cadenza to launch a first movement of mercurial changes of mood, Williams’s notating pen also embracing the silver screen in suggestiveness without invalidating the work’s concert-hall status. Central to the Concerto’s journey is an expressive viola solo germane to what may be nocturnal thoughts that will be contrasted with the Finale’s bright-day exuberance and which is also busy for the timpanist. Excellent all-round, not least from Mr. Ax, his encore stayed with Williams, the ‘Theme’ from Sabrina (1995 film, dir. Sydney Pollack), given with a gentle touch for piano portraiture and romance.
Even though the composer made three Suites from his Romeo and Juliet music (best played with the movements rearranged to the order they appear in the complete score), Mirga, like many conductors, made her own selections, with no surprises (the named pair separate and together, Montagues and Capulets, Tybalt, Friar Laurence) given powerful, vivid and theatrical treatment, narrative and musical considerations balanced effectively and smart to run most of the choices attacca, for an intense welding and realisation that, when played like this, avoided the feeling of something unfinished, although we did end at the end, tragedy transfigured.
“Sergei Prokofiev transformed Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet into a ballet full of vigour, lyrical melodies and folkloric dance scenes. Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla has compiled highlights from the score for her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Beforehand, the conductor takes us to the cheerfully ironic world of a puppet maker with Mieczysław Weinberg’s The Golden Key Suite, and a new piano concerto by film music legend John Williams with soloist Emanuel Ax.“
Mieczysław Weinberg The Golden Key, Suite No. 4, op. 55d
John Williams Concerto for Piano and Orchestra Emanuel Ax piano
Sergei Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet, op. 64: excerpts
From Berliner Philharmoniker, April 23…
Dear Digital Concert Hall viewer
We would like to offer our sincere apologies for the interruption to the live broadcast last Saturday. We deeply regret that the stream was cut off during Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet in the second half of the concert.
The abrupt interruption was caused by an internal error, for which we take full responsibility. We have, of course, already adjusted our systems to prevent such errors from occurring in future.
You can watch the complete recording of the concert with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla now in our concert archive.
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