Symphonic thinking dominated Mieczysław Weinberg’s final decade, and these chamber symphonies are part of an interrelated sequence that reworks and cites earlier pieces. The Second Chamber Symphony draws on a string quartet from 1944, reflecting the sombre and fatalistic tone of the period. The Fourth Chamber Symphony was Weinberg’s last completed work, and uses a haunting chorale melody that he once referred to as a constant presence throughout his creativity. Weinberg’s First and Third Chamber Symphonies (8574063) ‘blossom in vividly colourful performances’ (Pizzicato).

The East-West Chamber Orchestra was founded in 2015 as the residence orchestra at the Yuri Bashmet International Music Festival. Weinberg’s Chamber Symphonies nos. 1 and 3 was their debut recording (8574063), and both recordings have been made in Minsk, Belarus, where Weinberg completed his musical studies after escaping from the Warsaw Holocaust.