Biography
Mieczysław Weinberg was a composer and pianist of Polish-Jewish origin who worked primarily in the Soviet Union. Born in Warsaw on 8 December 1919, he fled Nazi-occupied Poland in 1939 and settled in the USSR after studies in Minsk and Tashkent. He moved to Moscow in 1943 following an invitation from Dmitri Shostakovich, who had been impressed by his First Symphony.
Weinberg composed more than 150 works, including 26 symphonies, 17 string quartets and around 70 film scores. He is known for his music for the 1957 war drama The Cranes Are Flying, the Soviet Winnie-the-Pooh animated shorts (1969–1971) and other films such as Afonya (1975). He received Soviet honours including the title of People's Artist of the Russian SFSR.
Weinberg died in Moscow on 26 February 1996.
