Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

[schnittkease]

He's only properly come on to my radar within the past decade or so, and when I first heard him I found it uncomfortable, it was almost *too* personal, something I've not really felt with any other (classical) composer. That didn't last for long though, and I find myself deeply drawn to his output and the spirit that glows behind it.

I love that description. Schnittke's music is some of the 20th-century's most powerful and it warms my heart to see how much attention it has been given since his death.

[Mirror Image]

I love that description. Schnittke's music is some of the 20th-century's most powerful and it warms my heart to see how much attention it has been given since his death.

Personally, I don't really see a lot of attention being given to him. Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, etc. are still spoken of with such high regard, but I truly believe that Schnittke should be a part of this group and that more concerts of his music should be given. I don't believe it'll happen as I feel that Schnittke's music has yet to catch up with many listeners. I think for many listeners they simply can't quite wrap their minds around this music (yet).

[schnittkease]

Personally, I don't really see a lot of attention being given to him. Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, etc. are still spoken of with such high regard, but I truly believe that Schnittke should be a part of this group and that more concerts of his music should be given. I don't believe it'll happen as I feel that Schnittke's music has yet to catch up with many listeners. I think for many listeners they simply can't quite wrap their minds around this music (yet).

I completely agree! I was talking relative to Schnittke's contemporaries, where only Ligeti truly stands on an equal footing—we should also be hearing more Nono, Berio, Xenakis, Stockhausen, Grisey, Crumb, etc. It's a sad situation us contemporary music fans find ourselves in...

[Mirror Image]

I completely agree! I was talking relative to Schnittke's contemporaries, where only Ligeti truly stands on an equal footing—we should also be hearing more Nono, Berio, Xenakis, Stockhausen, Grisey, Crumb, etc. It's a sad situation us contemporary music fans find ourselves in...

Nono? Yes... Stockhausen? No...I think he's one of the most overrated composers of the last 50 years. I know he influenced a lot of musicians and other composers, but I just can't stomach much of his music. I'd LOVE to see Xenakis' Jonchaies performed on the same program as Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps. I hope you're reading this New York Philharmonic! One problem I think many listeners still have with post-WWII music is that so much of it is almost a complete break from what had come before. It was almost like some kind of shock to the system and they still haven't quite recovered. But I don't want to sound disparaging or even cynical, but the current state of classical music feels like you're going into a minefield. You might can get by a few yards unscathed, but sooner or later you'll lose a leg or perhaps even worse.

[Karl Henning]

I love that description. Schnittke's music is some of the 20th-century's most powerful and it warms my heart to see how much attention it has been given since his death.

Would like to read more of your thoughts on the music.

[Karl Henning]

Partly prompted by, and in celebration of, your return, John, I've been re-acquainting myself with Schnittke. The Fourth Symphony was an early infatuation, and possibly the first of the symphonies to "hook" me. The use of the voices/chorus is masterly, and richly Russian.

[Maestro267]

The later symphonies are bleak in musical character. I'd consider his Symphony No. 5 the last of the polystylistic ones as you will notice a drastic change by the time you reach Symphony No. 6. I think of Symphonies Nos. 6 & 7 as 'graveyard reveries'. They're tough, challenging but I think they do contain several inspired moments, but the eeriness of the music will certainly affect you. Of the later symphonies, Symphony No. 8 is by far my favorite. It's Lento section lasts around 17 minutes or so and it gives the listener an intimate look into his psyche at that time. The music is sparse, fragile, and it just seems to whisper by. I think you'll find much to dig into in these later symphonies.

The first work I know of that comes to mind when I think "sparse" is Malcolm Arnold's Symphony No. 9. It took a few listens for me to grasp it, and maybe I fully haven't yet, but I still find that symphony to be an immensely powerful statement of a fragile, frail man who gave his all in one last major utterance.

[schnittkease]

Would like to read more of your thoughts on the music.

Here are my favorite Schnittke works (the usual suspects):

- Cello Concerto No. 1
- Cello Sonata No. 1
- Choir Concerto
- Concerto grosso No. 1
- Concerto grosso No. 2
- Concerto for Piano and Strings
- Peer Gynt
- Piano Quintet
- Requiem
- Seid Nüchtern und Wachtet (Faust Cantata)
- String Quartet No. 2
- String Quartet No. 3
- String Trio
- Symphony No. 1
- Symphony No. 2 "St. Florian"
- Symphony No. 5 (Concerto grosso No. 4)
- Symphony No. 8
- Viola Concerto

The Viola Concerto is a particularly mind-blowing work. Like much of Schnittke's output, it is intensely personal and deftly juxtaposes introspective interludes with macabre humor; this one and the First Cello Concerto are special as they were composed immediately after the first of five heart attacks that lead to his death in 1998. To me, Schnittke is the musical equivalent of staring into a kaleidoscope—disorienting to say the least, but everything undeniably makes "sense." Yes, it is dissonant and brash, but there is a timelessness to it that keeps me coming back for more.

Schnittke and Xenakis strike me as having a similar ethos, though the latter is usually more uncompromising and lets in less room for humor. The former uses less extended techniques than many of his peers but often controls timbre by specifying the amount of vibrato (if any) a line is to be played with. Then there are the choral works, which are a different beast altogether...

[Mirror Image]

Partly prompted by, and in celebration of, your return, John, I've been re-acquainting myself with Schnittke. The Fourth Symphony was an early infatuation, and possibly the first of the symphonies to "hook" me. The use of the voices/chorus is masterly, and richly Russian.

That's certainly a favorite work of mine as well, Karl. Like you, I love the vocals and how he wrote the chorus sections. Really beautiful, but, in some strange yet alluring way it's completely Schnittke in musical makeup. It could have been written by no other composer.

[Mirror Image]

The first work I know of that comes to mind when I think "sparse" is Malcolm Arnold's Symphony No. 9. It took a few listens for me to grasp it, and maybe I fully haven't yet, but I still find that symphony to be an immensely powerful statement of a fragile, frail man who gave his all in one last major utterance.

Yes, indeed. I loved Arnold's 9th upon first listen. I understood it immediately because of the musical language it was written was something I could relate to --- it wasn't out on left-field somewhere. This was music straight from the heart and it depicted him laying it all on the table for all to hear.

[Karl Henning]

Here are my favorite Schnittke works (the usual suspects):

- Cello Concerto No. 1
- Cello Sonata No. 1
- Choir Concerto
- Concerto grosso No. 1
- Concerto grosso No. 2
- Concerto for Piano and Strings
- Peer Gynt
- Piano Quintet
- Requiem
- Seid Nüchtern und Wachtet (Faust Cantata)
- String Quartet No. 2
- String Quartet No. 3
- String Trio
- Symphony No. 1
- Symphony No. 2 "St. Florian"
- Symphony No. 5 (Concerto grosso No. 4)
- Symphony No. 8
- Viola Concerto

The Viola Concerto is a particularly mind-blowing work. Like much of Schnittke's output, it is intensely personal and deftly juxtaposes introspective interludes with macabre humor; this one and the First Cello Concerto are special as they were composed immediately after the first of five heart attacks that lead to his death in 1998. To me, Schnittke is the musical equivalent of staring into a kaleidoscope—disorienting to say the least, but everything undeniably makes "sense." Yes, it is dissonant and brash, but there is a timelessness to it that keeps me coming back for more.

Schnittke and Xenakis strike me as having a similar ethos, though the latter is usually more uncompromising and lets in less room for humor. The former uses less extended techniques than many of his peers but often controls timbre by specifying the amount of vibrato (if any) a line is to be played with. Then there are the choral works, which are a different beast altogether...

Interesting, thanks. It is long enough since I listened to the Viola Concerto, that it must be a priority for me in tomorrow's queue.

[Mirror Image]

Interesting, thanks. It is long enough since I listened to the Viola Concerto, that it must be a priority for me in tomorrow's queue.

The Viola Concerto is wonderful. If you have the Bashmet/Rostropovich recording please give that one a listen.

[Karl Henning]

The Viola Concerto is wonderful. If you have the Bashmet/Rostropovich recording please give that one a listen.

That is surely the one.

[Mirror Image]

That is surely the one.

[Iota]

Here are my favorite Schnittke works (the usual suspects):

- Cello Concerto No. 1
- Cello Sonata No. 1
- Choir Concerto
- Concerto grosso No. 1
- Concerto grosso No. 2
- Concerto for Piano and Strings
- Peer Gynt
- Piano Quintet
- Requiem
- Seid Nüchtern und Wachtet (Faust Cantata)
- String Quartet No. 2
- String Quartet No. 3
- String Trio
- Symphony No. 1
- Symphony No. 2 "St. Florian"
- Symphony No. 5 (Concerto grosso No. 4)
- Symphony No. 8
- Viola Concerto

The Viola Concerto is a particularly mind-blowing work. Like much of Schnittke's output, it is intensely personal and deftly juxtaposes introspective interludes with macabre humor; this one and the First Cello Concerto are special as they were composed immediately after the first of five heart attacks that lead to his death in 1998. To me, Schnittke is the musical equivalent of staring into a kaleidoscope—disorienting to say the least, but everything undeniably makes "sense." Yes, it is dissonant and brash, but there is a timelessness to it that keeps me coming back for more.

Schnittke and Xenakis strike me as having a similar ethos, though the latter is usually more uncompromising and lets in less room for humor. The former uses less extended techniques than many of his peers but often controls timbre by specifying the amount of vibrato (if any) a line is to be played with. Then there are the choral works, which are a different beast altogether...

Excellent stuff, schnittkease! There are a number of familiar works on your list but I look forward to exploring some that aren't.

It seems to me (perhaps somewhat optimistically) that it may be within the gift of Schnittke's music to appeal to quite a wide public one day, at least maybe some of the more overtly fractured stuff.
Quite aside from it's ear-catching and distinctive qualities, people can sometimes take to the haunted underdog battling against a crazy world, even though the world be an internal one. They are perhaps grateful that someone can be so uncompromising, so emotionally bare-chested in a superficial, cosmetic world. And really when some of the results are as sensationally beautiful as this, there seems potential ... anyway, nice to pick up one's pipe and dream.

[vers la flamme]

Schnittke remains a composer that is kind of elusive to me. For example, I think his third string quartet is a masterpiece, one of the greatest quartets of the 20th century. I enjoy his early piano concerto well enough. And I like his first cello concerto, but I find it a dark and difficult work. But beyond these couple of works, most of his creations absolutely mystify me. I'm wondering where would be a more accessible place to start. Any of the symphonies? He wrote a good bunch of them, no? Perhaps more of the string quartets...?

The reason I'm so curious is because I know that as soon as his music "clicks" for me, it will be game over, I'm going to be obsessed... 

[relm1]

Schnittke remains a composer that is kind of elusive to me. For example, I think his third string quartet is a masterpiece, one of the greatest quartets of the 20th century. I enjoy his early piano concerto well enough. And I like his first cello concerto, but I find it a dark and difficult work. But beyond these couple of works, most of his creations absolutely mystify me. I'm wondering where would be a more accessible place to start. Any of the symphonies? He wrote a good bunch of them, no? Perhaps more of the string quartets...?

The reason I'm so curious is because I know that as soon as his music "clicks" for me, it will be game over, I'm going to be obsessed... 

You find his Cello Concerto No. 1 dark and difficult?  It's no darker or more difficult than any other 20th century cello concerto and is in fact transformative.  The darkness becomes light so it has more in common with something like Mahler.  Listen again but let it take you on a journey from start to finish.  It is fantastic.

[SymphonicAddict]

The 1st Cello Concerto is a masterpiece in my view. There is such struggle throughout that drains you, culminating in that unspeakably cathartic and afflicted ending. It gives me goosebumps everytime. The 2nd CC is also good and it is more challenging IMO.

[Mirror Image]

Schnittke remains a composer that is kind of elusive to me. For example, I think his third string quartet is a masterpiece, one of the greatest quartets of the 20th century. I enjoy his early piano concerto well enough. And I like his first cello concerto, but I find it a dark and difficult work. But beyond these couple of works, most of his creations absolutely mystify me. I'm wondering where would be a more accessible place to start. Any of the symphonies? He wrote a good bunch of them, no? Perhaps more of the string quartets...?

The reason I'm so curious is because I know that as soon as his music "clicks" for me, it will be game over, I'm going to be obsessed... 

One of the most admirable qualities about Schnittke's music is the truthfulness of it. He doesn't cater to popular taste and he always expressed himself in a way that may be difficult to understand at first, but over time, I do believe a listener can grasp his style or I should say styles. I wouldn't say his Cello Concerto No. 1 is any more challenging than Lutoslawski's or even Barber's. There is a lot of heart in the work and, as another member pointed out, it's a transformative experience --- the music goes from one of the most doom-laded sound-worlds you can imagine to a light-filled landscape full of hope and dreams. The journey is, for me, one of immense pleasure, because it does feel like one has been to hell and back, but in the musical sense of course. If I were you I'd give the Requiem a listen and then follow that with Symphony No. 4. If you get nothing from either work, then take some time off from Schnittke and come back later. Sometimes a bit of time away can do wonders.

[schnittkease]

Any of the symphonies? He wrote a good bunch of them, no? Perhaps more of the string quartets...?

Most of Schnittke's symphonies are "dark and difficult," but you should try Nos. 1 and 4 (as recommended by MI). String Quartet No. 2 is my favorite of the four (that second movement!) though it's probably a bit less accessible than No. 3. The Piano Quintet, dedicated to his mother's memory, is a must-hear. It will be tough going, but persevere as that finale is one of the most cathartic moments in contemporary music. The Molinari Quintet IMO is the best with the quartets/quintet.

Try the film scores?

https://www.youtube.com/v/G2V-nCeDKoM