Bernard Chasan:

>Well, as Don Satz has pointed out, V [Vainberg/Weinberg] may be a kinder,
>gentler S.  [Shostakovich] Is the world ready for that?

After listening to the eight symphonies which this exchange motivated
me to buy (6, 7, 10, 12, 19; Chamber Symphonies 1, 3, 4) I am still
intrigued by this comment.  In particular, I am wondering if the comment
is directed more at S.  or V./W.?

I liked all of these works, and some of them, especially the chamber
symphonies-- are indeed gentle, and even lyrical in a way I would never
associate with Shostakovich.  But for whatever my first reaction is
worth, the Vainberg/Weinberg Sixth Symphony (for large orchestra) is the
one that was most insistent about being heard again.  Written about the
same time as Shostakovich's powerful Babi Yar Symphony, it includes
settings of three poems in Russian (but translated from Yiddish) sung
by a boy's choir; their gentle tones for all three belie the content of
the second, which describes a pogrom.

Jim Tobin