Saratoga News
Style
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Saratoga neurologist Robert Weinmann looks over a symphony he wrote while attending Yale University. One of his pieces, 'Sonnetina for Violin, Clarinet and Piano,' was played recently in a concert at Yale.
Music big part of Weinmann's Yale life ... then and now
By Shannon Burkey
Robert Weinmann has accomplished much in his long career as a neurologist. Not only has he helped countless patients, he has also written many articles for national newspapers and medical journals, served as president of the Union of American Physician and Dentists for many years and testified before Congress about medical mistreatment.
But there's one accomplishment that not too many people know about, even his closest friends. The Saratoga doctor is also a closet musician who used to compose in his spare time.
One of Weinmann's pieces, "Sonnetina for Violin, Clarinet and Piano," was recently chosen to be performed at a special concert at Yale University, his alma mater. The concert showcased pieces composed by former Yale students, and the piece, which Weinmann wrote 50 years ago as a 20-year-old student, was one of the few selected.
"I was surprised when I heard they were going to do the piece," said Weinmann, who flew to New Haven to take in the concert. "However, I tried to act cool."
Weinmann wrote the sonatine during a summer course at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, then later refined it at Yale when the school was looking for music for a concert.
Although his major was English literature and he only minored in music, during his time at Yale music was a big part of Weinmann's life. After graduation, however, he decided to go in a different direction.
"I decided to do music a great service and left," he joked.
Instead he went to medical school and put music behind him.
"I found dong music as a hobby is not that easy," Weinmann said, who also holds a black belt in karate. "You can play as a hobby, but writing is full time. There's none of this just jotting things down on a napkin, so I decided to go to medical school instead."
Over the years, the piece Weinmann wrote as a young college student has been played all over the world, but Weinmann has heard it played live only a few times.
"I've only heard it four or five times in my lifetime," Weinmann said. "The last time was in the '80s in Los Gatos by a retired physician who is also a pianist."
So receiving the news that it was to been performed again, in the very concert hall he frequented as a student, was something Weinmann said he never expected.
He took the same seat in Sprague Hall that he sat in night after night as a concert reviewer for Yale's student newspaper and listened to his piece performed by world-renowned pianist and composer Johannes Somary, along with Yale Conservatory students Bee-Seon Keum and Mingzhe Wang.
"It was nostalgia-evoking and a lot of fun," said Weinmann, adding that the applause was great, too. "It was a packed house; I wasn't expecting that."
He also wasn't expecting the reaction to his piece in the days that followed the show.
"For two days after, people around town kept coming up to me and asking me if I was the composer. I also got three calls from people asking if I had anymore pieces," he said with a laugh.
Until the Yale performance, Weinmann had kept his musical past from his friends, but recently told a few about the upcoming performance.
"One person got quite a kick out of it. He couldn't believe he's known me for 10 years and I never told him. He was quite impressed," Weinmann said.
Pete Campbell, a friend and tennis buddy of Weinmann's for 20 years, said he knew his friend was a patron of the arts, but he had no idea of the depth.
"I knew he was talented, but not that talented," Campbell said. "He's such a humble guy and doesn't brag about his accomplishments."
It's been almost two decades since he has composed a new piece, and though he has recently gotten requests, he said he doesn't anticipate writing anything new in the near future.
"I'm just going to live off of this one," he joked. "Although if someone comes in with a nice offer, you never know."
Although he gave up his music career to pursue a medical one, Weinmann said he has never looked back.
"I don't regret not going into music. I don't regret any of my choices," he said. "Although I have to admit, hearing your own stuff played and having people tell you they like it is really nice."
