The Cello Sonata “Israel” is dedicated to the then-new state of Israel. The quotation of an old Yemenite melody, of particular note in the sonata’s final moments, expresses the hope for the new nation and the joy of a realised dream for the Jewish community. Weinzweig extends this musical depiction of communal celebration for the State of Israel in Dance of Masada (1951) and Am Ysrael chai! = Israel Lives! (1952).
This work is typical of Weinzweig’s serialist approach: though the serialist technique guides both inner and outer voices, it is used with flexibility, allowing the music to express a range of moods. Each movement has its own row, but Weinzweig integrates the two movements by keeping the same tonal centre (Eb), sharing some row segments, and partially quoting the first tone row in the second movement.
Written by Alexa Woloshyn