Weinberg: Piano Quintet, Piano Sonatina & Cello Sonata No. 2 Attacca Quartet & Jeanne Golan

• Mieczysław Weinberg (1919-1996): Piano Quintet, Op. 18:
• 1 I. Moderato con moto 09:22
• 2 II. Allegretto 07:11
• 3 III. Presto 07:14
• 4 IV. Largo 13:53
• 5 V. Allegro agitato 09:42
• Piano Sonatina, Op. 49:
• 6 I. Allegro leggiero 02:16
• 7 II. Adagietto lugubre 03:17
• 8 III. Allegretto 01:19
• Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 63:
• 9 I. Moderato 07:06
• 10 II. Andante 08:44
• 11 III. Allegro 06:40
• Total Runtime 01:16:44

Info for Weinberg: Piano Quintet, Piano Sonatina & Cello Sonata No. 2

Mieczyslaw Weinberg, a composer beginning to be known outside Russia, found a home in music during a life full of persecution, exile, and upheaval. Pianist Jeanne Golan, cellist Andrew Yee, and the Attacca Quartet give passionate performances of three Weinberg works: the Piano Quintet Op. 18, the Cello Sonata Op. 63 No. 2, and the Sonatine for Piano, Op. 49, on their new recording for the Steinway & Sons label (STNS 30072).

“I'd begun to hear about Weinberg from friends involved in the 'recovered voices' movement and so tracked down a few chamber music scores,” says Golan. “Reading through them for the first time, I immediately felt connected to this man's music. His drawing on Yiddish folk elements that were such a part of my home growing up, his distinct brand of Russian modernism so fresh and expressive... Combined with the naturalness of his writing for piano that makes the playing itself a joy, how could you not love that?”

Golan eventually shared her love of Weinberg’s music with Andrew Yee, cellist in the Attacca Quartet. They read through the Cello Sonata together, and the sheer beauty of the slow movement was more than enough to convince Yee to focus more deliberately on the composer’s output. Golan suggested recording the Sonata, along with Weinberg’s epic Piano Quintet, and Yee brought his fellow Quartet members on board. “All of us in the Attacca Quartet quickly fell for the mysterious colors and bold statements of the Quintet, and Jeanne was a dream to work with,” enthused Yee. “These two pieces of Weinberg’s deserve to be in the core repertoire, and we couldn’t be prouder to release this album on the Steinway label.”

“Golan, aside from being a formidable pianist, is one with a deep intellectual and aesthetic curiosity. She is an imaginative and tasteful curator of the programs she presents.” (Fanfare Magazine)

Jeanne Golan, piano

Jeanne Golan
The New York Times describes pianist Jeanne Golan as "technically polished and superbly expressive," and the Philadelphia Inquirer as having the "gift and ability to clarify the core of music." Her programming reflects her active involvement in the fostering of works by new composers and discovering relatively unknown musical treasures. With an impressive collection of pieces written for her and that she has premiered and recorded, her solo and collaborative CDs appear under the Steinway & Sons, Albany, Capstone, ArsisAudio and Newport Classic labels. Ms. Golan has been featured at such venues as Carnegie and Merkin Halls in NYC; her range of experience includes work with the Philip Glass Ensemble, the Lark and Attacca Quartets, with singers as in Innocence Lost: The Berg-Debussy Project, and appearances with the American Symphony Orchestra.

Cellist Andrew Yee has been praised by Michael Kennedy of the London Telegraph as “spellbindingly virtuosic”. He is a founding member of the Attacca Quartet. They have released several albums to critical acclaim including his arrangement of Haydn’s “Seven Last Words” which Thewholenote.com praised as “easily the most satisfying string version of the work that I’ve heard.”

The internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet is one of the most dynamic ensembles oftheir generation. Praised by The Strad for possessing “maturity beyond its members’ years,” they were formed at the Juilliard School in 2003 and made their professional debut in 2007 in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. From 2011-2013 they served as the Juilliard Graduate Resident String Quartet, and for the 2014-2015 season they were selected as the Quartet in Residence by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As stated by The Washington Post, “Mastery like this is scarce enough in quartets that have played together for decades.”

Attacca Quartet
The internationally acclaimed Attacca Quartet is one of the most dynamic ensembles of their generation. Praised by The Strad for possessing “maturity beyond its members’ years,” they were formed at the Juilliard School in 2003 and made their professional debut in 2007 as part of the Artists International Winners Series in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. From 2011-2013 they served as the Juilliard Graduate Resident String Quartet, and for the 2014-2015 season they were selected as the Quartet in Residence by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. As stated by The Washington Post, “Mastery like this is scarce enough in quartets that have played together for decades.”

In the 2017-2018 season, the Attacca Quartet will be touring extensively throughout the United States and abroad. Highlights of the season will include appearances at Wolf Trap, Carolina Performing Arts, Converse College, Bay Chamber Concerts, Cedarhurst Chamber Music, Chamber Music Society of Central Kentucky, Glema Mahr, Cranbrook Music Guild, Huntsville Chamber Music Guild, Mobile Chamber Music, Bologna Performing Arts, Oak Ridge Civic Music Association, Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music, Friends of Music in Troy, Symphony Augusta, Florida Keys Concert Association, Palm Beach State College, the Garmany Chamber Music Series, Lyrica Chamber Music and Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts in New York. The group will also present an ongoing series at Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan entitled “Based on Beethoven,” featuring performances of the complete Beethoven string quartets. The group currently serves as the Ensemble-in-Residence at the School of Music at Texas State University.

The Attacca Quartet’s most recent album release included string quartet works of Michael Ippolito. These works were performed as part of the group’s residency at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, including three concerts of works by living composers. The group's next recording project will feature string quartet works of Caroline Shaw.

The Attacca Quartet recently completed a recording project of Haydn’s masterwork “The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross,” arranged by Andrew Yee and the Attacca Quartet. In his review for Gramophone, Donald Rosenberg wrote, “The Attacca Quartet explore the work’s range of expressive moods with utmost sensitivity to nuance and interplay .... They triumph in every respect, and are captured in such vivid sound that no telling Haydn detail is allowed to go unheard.” Thewholenote.com wrote, “It’s easily the most satisfying string version of the work that I’ve heard.”

In 2013, the quartet released the complete works for string quartet by John Adams on Azica Records. It was praised by Steve Smith of The New York Times as a “vivacious, compelling set,” describing the Attacca Quartet’s playing as “exuberant, funky, and … exactingly nuanced.” The Boston Globe also praised the release, stating, “Few [recent recordings] are as consequential as ‘Fellow Traveler,’ … superb performances.” The album was the recipient of the 2013 National Federation of Music Clubs Centennial Chamber Music Award. The quartet has been honored with both the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association and the Lotos Prize in the Arts from the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation.

The Attacca Quartet has engaged in extensive educational and community outreach projects, serving as guest artists and teaching fellows at the Lincoln Center Institute, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Vivace String Camp in New York, the Woodlands ChamberFest in Texas, Virginia Arts Festival, Bravo! Vail Valley and Animato Summer Music Camp at Florida International University in Miami. Since 2006, they have performed in yearly benefit concerts supporting the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s efforts. The members of the Attacca Quartet currently reside in New York City. They are represented by Baker Artists, LLC.

Booklet for Weinberg: Piano Quintet, Piano Sonatina & Cello Sonata No. 2