Mieczysław Weinberg

Mieczysław Weinberg (December 8, 1919 – February 26, 1996) was a Polish, Soviet, and Russian composer and pianist. Born in Warsaw to parents who worked in the Yiddish theatre in Poland, his early years were surrounded by music. At the age of 12, he began formal music lessons. Later, he studied piano at the Warsaw Conservatory. In 1939, Weinberg fled Warsaw when Germany invaded Poland and started World War II. His family was later murdered at the Trawniki concentration camp. Weinberg found refuge in the Soviet Union. He established himself successfully in Moscow with support from Dmitri Shostakovich and the Committee on the Arts. Postwar changes in Soviet cultural policy led to increased persecution of minority groups, including Jews. Although Weinberg's music was well regarded and regularly played, he was surveilled and harassed by the MVD. On February 6, 1953, Weinberg was arrested and jailed at Lubyanka Prison. Stalin's death and intercession on his behalf by Shostakovich led to Weinberg's release on April 25. The 1960s were the peak of Weinberg's professional success. Aside from his concert works, his music for film also became well known. His score for Fyodor Khitruk's cartoon Winnie-the-Pooh was an immediate success and the verses sung by its titular character entered the Russian popular lexicon. In the 1970s, Weinberg career began to decline, in spite of increased official distinctions. He continued to compose prolifically through the 1980s, but Crohn's disease and the collapse of the Soviet Union had immediate adverse consequences for him. The loss of state patronage and healthcare prevented him from receiving treatment for his broken hip in late 1992, which left him bedridden. Belated recognition of his music outside of Russia began in the 1990s through the advocacy of Tommy Persson, a Swedish judge. In 1994, Poland awarded Weinberg the Meritorious Activist of Culture. He converted to Orthodox Christianity a few weeks before his death.