The Lost Works of Samuil Feinberg and Hanuš Winterberg

Concept Overview

The recordings on this disc are all world premieres, apart from the Op. 11 Suite by Feinberg, which was recorded by the composer himself in 1929. There is no direct connection between the two twentieth-century composers, Samuil Feinberg and Hans (Hanuš) Winterberg, one a citizen of Russia and the Soviet Union; the other, a decade his junior, of Czechoslovakia and Bavarian Germany. However, they are both among those composers abandoned by history despite the intrinsic merits of their work. The oblivion to which Winterberg was consigned was effectively total, held hostage to a posthumous embargo to which part of his family acceded, until his grandson initiated his rediscovery in 2015. By contrast, Feinberg had at least garnered admiration during his lifetime, and since, for his prowess as pianist and teacher. Both composed in their own very individual idioms, though sometimes making little concession to the listener or to the technical demands placed on the performer. As things have turned out, Christophe Sirodeau has been able to contribute to the salvaging of two works of these composers by editing and preparing their “lost and found” manuscripts for publication (with minimal editorial revisions required for performance), in addition to actually playing and recording them, of course! This sense of discovery of a lost world of music, and of revealing the character of its creators is the impetus behind the programme of this disc. 

The booklet contains an informative essay by Christophe Sirodeau about all the pieces on this recording. 

Artist Information

Christophe Sirodeau was born in 1970 in Paris. As a pianist, he studied with at the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory under Evgeny Malinin. Since making his performing debut in 1982, he has performed a broad variety of repertoire in concert, recordings, and broadcasts, specialising somewhat in the presentation of rarely heard music (Ullmann, Feinberg, Skalkottas, Kapralova for example). In the 1990s he undertook significant scholarly and performing work concerning Samuil Feinberg which resulted in the composer's 1st Piano Concerto and a number of unpublished songs and piano works coming to light and receiving their first performances and recordings since the 1930s, and in some cases, their world premieres. 

Nina Pissareva-Zymbalist studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. in the classes of Masters Andrei Korsakov, Yuri Tortchinsky and Zoria Shikmourzayeva. She was the interpreter of the world premiere of the First Violin Sonata by the famous pianist and composer Samuil Feinberg (1890-1962). Alongside the violinist Eichii Chijiiwa, she recorded for the Scandinavian label BIS Records "the Concerto for two violins" by Skalkottas. She is involved with numerous chamber ensembles and works regularly in various orchestras such as the Paris Opera orchestra, the Ile-de-France national orchestra, the Rouen Opera. Since 2006, she has held a position as a tutti violin with the Marseille Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Marketing and Press 

This recording had limited exposure to the press and media when first released and is now being re-presented in order that these fascinating discoveries reach the wider audience that they deserve, so will be fully serviced to all Press and Media. Review copies can be requested from john@musicandmediaconsulting.com – interviews with Christophe Sirodeau can be quickly arranged if required.