In Brief

Summarizing three seasons in this series, these CDs represent composers who did not survive the Holocaust, who wrote while imprisoned, or who connect to that era in pre- and postwar writing. The high quality of unfamiliar music by Paul Ben-Haim, Olivier Messiaen and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco earns admiration, as do lesser works by David Diamond, George Perle, Herman Berlinski and Robert Starer. Most engaging on Vol. I is the Piano Trio (1945) by Moisei Vainberg, a brilliant, tight, angular and violent composition irresistible in its intensity. There are also ear-opening pieces by the little-known Jozef Koffler and Szymon Laks. Among the solid performers are cellist Steven Honigberg, violinist George Marsh and pianists Joseph Holt and Carol Honigberg.