Praised by Chostakovitch as one of the most talented Soviet composers, Vainberg’s works have been performed by musicians such as violinists David Oistrakh and Leonid Kogan, pianists Emil Gilels and Maria Grinberg, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, conductors Kurt Sanderling, Kirill Kondrashin, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Rudolf Barschai.

His songs were sung by Zara Dolukhanova and Galina Vishnevskaya and his operas were staged at the prestigious theaters in Leningrad and Moscow. The fact that his extremely large and diverse body of music has remained almost entirely unknown in the Occident is most likely due to the tragic circumstances and difficulties of his life in the former Soviet Union. His music is sure to be one of the great discoveries of the upcoming century.

Vainberg’s Chamber Symphonies are filled with a serenity and absolute clarity of texture. Towering wisdom is joined by youthful spontaneity and naivete; formal perfection is accompanied by a unique musical rhetoric. Misha Rachlevsky was one of the few musicians to maintain contact with Vainberg until the end of his life. He worked on the preparation of these scores in collaboration with the composer, who dedicated the First Chamber Symphony to him.