Rediscovering Julia Weissberg Rimsky-Korsakov: Songs of a Silenced Voice
The name Rimsky-Korsakov is enshrined in the canon of Russian music, yet until now, one remarkable branch of that musical lineage remained nearly forgotten. With the release of YULIYA: Forgotten Songs of Julia Weissberg Rimsky-Korsakov on Azica Records, soprano Sarah Moulton Faux and pianist-composer Konstantin Soukhovetski revive the voice of Julia Weissberg Rimsky-Korsakov (1878–1942)—Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s daughter-in-law, a brilliant Jewish composer whose legacy was buried by antisemitism, war, and time.
The project begins in the solitude of the pandemic, when Moulton Faux stumbles across a passing reference to “composer Julia Weissberg” in her Rimsky-Korsakov research. “I had never heard of her. And I wondered if she wrote songs for soprano,” she recalls. “That was really the start of my quest.” What follows is a detective story spanning archives and conversations with scholars, ultimately uncovering a trove of manuscripts in the Russian State Library.
A Parallel with Florence Price
The duo draws compelling parallels between Weissberg and African-American composer Florence Price. Both women achieve success in their lifetimes, are respected by their peers, and yet are erased from the canon—Price by racism, Weissberg by antisemitism and war. “It’s shocking what these women accomplish in spite of their obstacles,” Soukhovetski reflects. “Her music is so first-rate that it’s a shocking omission she isn’t part of the continuum alongside Scriabin or Mussorgsky.”
Songs Like Time Capsules
The album opens with Weissberg’s Opus 1, a set of romances that already hint at the breadth of her artistry. One setting in particular—Mikhail Lermontov’s famous poem Alone I Set Out on the Road—strikes both artists as revelatory. “It’s a lifetime in five minutes,” Soukhovetski says. “Devastatingly beautiful—like an opera scene.”
Moulton Faux adds, “Julia’s setting is by far the best I’ve ever encountered—evocative, emotional, exquisite.”
Other highlights include Moon Fairy Tale (Mondmärchen), a German lullaby rich with text painting, and Gulnara’s Song, set to poetry by Sophia Parnok, Russia’s “Sappho.” Weissberg’s reach extends globally too: Spring’s Song uses the verse of Indian activist Sarojini Naidu, reflecting her fascination with women’s voices and cross-cultural exchange.
Chemistry in the Studio
The synergy between Moulton Faux and Soukhovetski is immediate. Though they have never worked together before, GRAMMY-winning producer Judith Sherman recalls how naturally their collaboration unfolds: “The working relationship was instantly good—you rarely find that. They really brought off some amazing performances, very moving, very touching.”
The sessions moved so fluidly, in fact, that the team finished recording ahead of schedule—15 songs captured in less than two days. “We were very much in the zone,” Moulton Faux says, crediting Sherman’s seasoned ear for keeping them focused.
Restoring Justice Through Music
For both Moulton Faux and Soukhovetski, the album carries a weight that goes beyond rediscovery. Weissberg perishes during the Nazi siege of Leningrad, and her work, like her life, is nearly obliterated. “We can’t undo the horrors of the past,” Soukhovetski says. “But we owe it to Julia and to ourselves to right the wrong of her underestimation and erasure.”
Moulton Faux adds, “I hope after hearing this album that musicians will want to perform her work more, that presenters will want to present it, and that all of her manuscripts will be recorded and out in the world.”
A Legacy Reawakened
YULIYA is more than an album—it’s a reclamation. By resurrecting Weissberg’s music, Moulton Faux and Soukhovetski not only restore justice to an overlooked voice but also expand the very definition of the classical canon. As Soukhovetski puts it, “It’s like finding a Michelangelo work in the basement of the Vatican. A treasure that is there all along, waiting to be heard.”
