Weiner, Laszlo

László Weiner – Concerto for Piano, Flute, Viola and String Orchestra (1941?)

(b. Szombathely, 9th April 1916 – d. Lukov, 25th July 1944)

Preface
László Weiner was 26 when in 1942 he was taken by the Nazis to a forced labour camp on the Eastern front and he was still only 28 when in 1944 he was murdered by the Nazis in Lukov, Slovakia. Thus not only a young life was destroyed but also the unfulfilled future work of a very gifted composer, conductor and pianist.

Weiner’s compositional output was cut short to consist of only seven compositions and one transcription:

– Serenade for string trio, July-August 1938.
– Duo for Violin and Viola, 1939, dedicated to Viktor Ajtay and Pál Lukács.
– Overture for small orchestra, 1939, dedicated to Vera Rózsa.
– Sonata for Viola and Piano, 1939 (?), dedicated to Pál Lukács.
– Three Songs, 1941 to poems by Mihály Vörösmarty and Endre Ady,
dedicated to Vera Rózsa and her sister Merika.
Idához [To Ida] (Mihály Vörösmarty), February 1941, dedicated to Merika.
Epilóg [Epilogue], (Endre Ady), February 1941, dedicated to Vera Rózsa.
Ismeretlen átok [Unknown damnation], (Endre Ady), August 1941,
dedicated to Vera Rózsa.
– Concerto for Piano, Flute, Viola and string orchestra, (1941?), dedicated to Vera Rózsa.
– Sötét vizek partján [On the shore of dark waters], set to a poem by Endre Ady,
for four-part male choir,
23th September 1942, dedicated to Vera Rózsa.
– Siciliana by Handel; transcription for cellist Janos Starker.

The Budapest Music Academy yearbooks show that Weiner was Zoltán Kodály’s composition pupil from 1934 until 1940 and that he also studied piano and conducting there.

In 1934, at the age of 18, Weiner saw Kodály’s opera Háry János at the Budapest Opera House. He felt this experience brought about a decisive turn in his professional development. An entry in his 1934 musical diary kept for some months only and published fragmentarily (Parlando, 48/6, 2006, pp. 40-44) bears evidence of his youthful enthusiasm: “ … I thank the great Master and the master’s most competent interpreters for showing me the path I am supposed to follow. This wonderful path has taken on clear outlines!” …

Read full preface > HERE