Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

[not edward]

So you wait years for a recording of Schnittke's Ninth, and then two of them come along at once:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product/NR_August09/BISCD1727.htm

[greg]

So you wait years for a recording of Schnittke's Ninth, and then two of them come along at once:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product/NR_August09/BISCD1727.htm

And it's with another recording of the Concerto Grosso #1! Nice! 

I coulda swore I heard the Schnittke 9th somewhere, though... you sure it was never recorded before now?

[not edward]

And it's with another recording of the Concerto Grosso #1! Nice! 

I coulda swore I heard the Schnittke 9th somewhere, though... you sure it was never recorded before now?

There was a recording floating around the 'net in appalling sound quality, made by someone with a hand-held tape recorder, of Rozhdestvensky's attempted completion of the symphony. This version horrified the Schnittke family and led to the withdrawal of the work for many years.

[bhodges]

So you wait years for a recording of Schnittke's Ninth, and then two of them come along at once:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product/NR_August09/BISCD1727.htm

Cool!  And as an aside, the first recording I've seen from the Cape [Town] Philharmonic.  Oops, here's the group in the Schnittke Symphony No. 0, too.

--Bruce

[Lethevich]

Cool!  And as an aside, the first recording I've seen from the Cape [Town] Philharmonic.  Oops, here's the group in the Schnittke Symphony No. 0, too.

That's a great disc. The playing is surprisingly decent, and the symphony is very good I'd have never have expected it, but it's a fine piece of mid century conservatism, melodic and not overly long. I picked it up for the oratorio expecting the symphony to be total filler, but found myself enjoying the whole package.

[bhodges]

That's a great disc. The playing is surprisingly decent, and the symphony is very good I'd have never have expected it, but it's a fine piece of mid century conservatism, melodic and not overly long. I picked it up for the oratorio expecting the symphony to be total filler, but found myself enjoying the whole package.

Thanks, appreciate the comment.  I'll no doubt get it, since I don't know either piece.  (I thought Bruckner was the only one with a "Symphony No. 0"?)  Interesting, too, that BIS has continued to record so much Schnittke over such a long span.  I think the first Schnittke CD I ever bought was the Concerto Grosso No. 1, with Lev Markiz and the New Stockholm Chamber Orchestra.

--Bruce

[Lethevich]

I started with the concerto grosso no.1 too - it seems to be his only "hit" as far as hits go with modern composers. However good it is, I would not claim that the no.0 symphony is as good as Nagasaki, which is brilliant and a must-hear at some point. I believe the BIS version is with Schnittke's revised (under Communist party pressure) ending, making it "happy". I didn't really feel that it compromised the piece, as I was enjoying the surprising amount of melody throughout, and the finale simply ramped this up to a higher (sort of manic) level - a bit like the effect of the opening to Shostakovich's 5th finale, perhaps.

[The Six]

That Gogol Suite has to be one of his masterpieces. I've only heard it once, and it was live, any it really made an impression. It's a gargantuan piece, but should be a standard by now.

[greg]

There was a recording floating around the 'net in appalling sound quality, made by someone with a hand-held tape recorder, of Rozhdestvensky's attempted completion of the symphony. This version horrified the Schnittke family and led to the withdrawal of the work for many years.

Really? Is it this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nEo0F-uvTM

[not edward]

Really? Is it this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nEo0F-uvTM

Nope. That's the ECM recording.

[UB]

An informative review of the 9th symphony with musical examples can be found at William C White's blog
http://www.willcwhite.com/tag/symphony-no-9

[not edward]

An informative review of the 9th symphony with musical examples can be found at William C White's blog
http://www.willcwhite.com/tag/symphony-no-9

A good article, I thought. I hadn't picked up on the parallel between the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 9th, but he's right about it. (I don't think I rate the 8th as highly as he does, though!)

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

(I don't think I rate the 8th as highly as he does, though!)

Well I wouldn't call it "the pinnacle of musical art," but I do think it's one of Schnittke's best pieces.

The "completed" 9th doesn't interest me, except as a curiosity. It would have to be roughly as complete as Mahler's 10th for me to take an interest, and it sounds like it was not at such an advanced stage.

[not edward]

Well I wouldn't call it "the pinnacle of musical art," but I do think it's one of Schnittke's best pieces.

The "completed" 9th doesn't interest me, except as a curiosity. It would have to be roughly as complete as Mahler's 10th for me to take an interest, and it sounds like it was not at such an advanced stage.

I would totally agree with your assessment of the 8th there.

There seems to be so much contradictory information floating around about the 9th. My understanding (from talking to Ronald Weitzman about it a few years ago, and from what's mentioned on the ECM inlay) is that the symphony was in fact completed in short score. However, due to Schnittke being almost totally paralysed when he wrote it, the score was in places almost unreadable and required heavy study to decipher it. I am also assuming that Irina Schnittke thinks the final score is a reasonable facsimile of her husband's intentions, since otherwise I doubt she would have let the work out into the world (I believe she had the final decision on whether to sanction it for public performance).

[bhodges]

Was just browsing the Proms schedule and on August 24, check this out.  Will be broadcast live on BBC3, and archived for one week.

Schnittke: Nagasaki (UK premiere)
Shostakovich: Symphony No.8 in C minor

Elena Zhidkova, mezzo-soprano
London Symphony Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
Valery Gergiev, conductor

--Bruce

[monafam]

I only had a chance to read a small part of this thread at work. 

Can anyone give me an idea of his style (any other composers that he is similar to)? 

I have some credits to burn on a music site, and I was looking at his Symphonies...

[bhodges]

Schnittke's Concerto Grosso No. 1 was the first piece I ever heard by him, which at the time I jokingly described as "Vivaldi on acid."  It is scored for two violins, prepared piano, harpsichord and strings, and sounds somewhat like an 18th-century piece periodically being interrupted by Ligeti.  He was one of the first composers to write in "polystylism," with forms from the past and present intermingling. 

If you like chamber music, definitely investigate his Piano Quintet, available in many fine recordings.  (I have perhaps five different versions, and would recommend all of them.)

--Bruce

[monafam]

He was one of the first composers to write in "polystylism," with forms from the past and present intermingling. 

Thanks for the reply.  He sounds really interesting, and the quote above might be enough for me to give him a shot!

[Sean]

The Conc grosso No.1 is a good neo-baroque piece. Otherwise Schnittke is one distinctly second-rate composer and his prominance is just a mystery, as is this dumb thread, and obviously related to garbage suitable marketing and promotion he managed to secure. His music is weak.

[bhodges]

Thanks for the reply.  He sounds really interesting, and the quote above might be enough for me to give him a shot!

His output is huge.  Check out the list on Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Schnittke

Definitely worth exploring, with many fine recordings available.  His prominence is no mystery; he was an excellent composer who despite a lifetime of ill health managed to write a large body of utterly fascinating music.  Not all is first-rate, but IMHO there is enough of it to secure his place as one of the greats of the 20th century.

--Bruce