We established the Mieczysław Weinberg Institute Foundation in February 2020. We all got to know each other through the persona of Mieczysław Weinberg. Ania met Alek in Tel-Aviv on the occasion of the local premiere of “The Passenger,” Marysia and Alek met in Moscow at a conference devoted to the composer, and Ania and Marysia began their cooperation at the WarszeMuzik Festival. –It soon turned out that we share a fascination with Weinberg’s music and the conviction that we need an organisation that will dedicate its actions to the composer’s heritage. As a result of an unfortunate series of events, Mietek reached the border alone. He could not have known that he would never see his loved ones again, that his beloved Warsaw would cease to exist, and that he would live and work in Moscow for the rest of his life.
Together with the Sfera Harmonii foundation, we have already carried out two large projects in the first year of our operation: “Warsaw Walkabout with Weinberg” and “House Party at Mietek Weinberg’s.” We cooperated with the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews at the Polin Music Festival. We inaugurated a series of podcasts – conversations with musicians, composers, directors, and musicologists who research Weinberg’s work. We also received a grant from the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute and ZAIKS.
Mieczysław Weinberg was born in 1919 in Warsaw, at 66 Żelazna Street. His family house still stands on the corner of Żelazna and Krochmalna Streets – one of the few tenement houses that have survived to our times. Weinberg, his parents, Shmuel and Sura Dwojra, and his sister Estera lived in Warsaw for twenty years. He studied piano at the Warsaw Conservatory, worked in famous venues such as “Adria” or “Oaza,” and helped his father compose music for numerous Jewish theatres. His Warsaw life ended in September 1939. Like many other residents of the city, the Weinbergs decided to escape from besieged Warsaw and head East. As a result of an unfortunate series of events, Mietek reached the border alone. He could not have known that he would never see his loved ones again, that his beloved Warsaw would cease to exist, and that he would live and work in Moscow for the rest of his life.
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