Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

[karlhenning]

Thanks . . . that very impression is why I want to give that piece the time and space it deserves, which I haven't had to give it, this week past.

[DavidW]

I received the Schnittke symphony set from MI's refusal bin today, thanks MI!

Where should I begin?  Go right for the great 8th?  Proceed chronologically?  Something else?

[Scarpia]

Thanks . . . that very impression is why I want to give that piece the time and space it deserves, which I haven't had to give it, this week past.

Finally sold a tedius set of Ballet music on ebay and used the proceeds to get the Schnittke Peer Gynt.   Bracing for clinical depression when it arrives next week.   

[Lethevich]

I received the Schnittke symphony set from MI's refusal bin today, thanks MI!

Where should I begin?  Go right for the great 8th?  Proceed chronologically?  Something else?

If you're willing to wade through his most bewildering works first, then chronological is the way to go - it offers an ideal look into how he advanced as a composer. If you're looking for something to grab you right away definitely go for 5-8. The 7th is in a similar language to the 8th, but a good deal more taut.

[karlhenning]

The First is mad, Davey — Mahler on steroids — I love it!

[Scarpia]

The First is mad, Davey — Mahler on steroids — I love it!

I have had that set for a few months but have never found time to listen to any of it.  But I read the wiki page and that first symphony sounds a little frightening.  Now symphony No 0, that was written around the time of the first Piano Concerto.  Maybe a better place for the faint of heart.   

[Lethevich]

The symphony no.0 is actually very good - any fan of Shostakovich or Soviet music in general would dig it. It's just not Schnittke, though

[Scarpia]

The symphony no.0 is actually very good - any fan of Shostakovich or Soviet music in general would dig it. It's just not Schnittke, though

Exactly the same would apply to the first piano concerto (from 1960).

[DavidW]

Alright chronological all the way baby!

[eyeresist]

Just pulled the trigger on the Bis set of the symphonies. The samples all sounded very good, except the Hughes-led 9 and 0, which seemed a bit rougher in sound and execution. I think the Bis sound will make for much better listening than those old Rozhdy recordings.

At the last minute I decided not to get the Bashmet/Gutman set of viola and cello concerto, after listening to some samples of the viola work. Such fretful calisthenics were NOT what I was in the mood for.

If these work out, I think I'll check out the Choir Concerto next.


(Also ordered Pettttttttterssssssssson's 7 conducted by Segerstam, plus the Rangstrom symphony set.)

[karlhenning]

. . . If these work out, I think I'll check out the Choir Concerto next.

Oh, you should go ahead and reel in the Choir Concerto, which (because it is a sustained essay relating to the Russian sacred choral tradition) covers musical ground quite other to the symphonies.

[bhodges]

Oh, you should go ahead and reel in the Choir Concerto, which (because it is a sustained essay relating to the Russian sacred choral tradition) covers musical ground quite other to the symphonies.

Agreed - it shows a different side of Schnittke's style. Also, should at some point you find yourself more in the mood for the "fretful calisthenics"  this DVD of Bashmet playing the Viola Concerto is pretty fantastic, with Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic, taped at the 2000 Salzburg Festival. (I imagine it is one of the orchestra's rare forays into this composer's work.)

Plus, the superb Prokofiev and Stravinsky aren't exactly "fillers," either. 

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--Bruce

[karlhenning]

Alright chronological all the way baby!

I'll be interested, Davey — at whatever future time — to see if at some poin the First strikes you differently.

In fact, I think I shall cue the First back up, myself! . . .

[DavidW]

I think that Ives fans would like that symphony Karl.  The meeting of profound with frivolity in turbulent chaos seems Ivesian.  But for now the 7th and 8th are my cup of tea.

[karlhenning]

The Seventh & Eighth are certainly top-shelf, below-the-green-lemon music, Davey!

[eyeresist]

this DVD of Bashmet playing the Viola Concerto is pretty fantastic, with Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic, taped at the 2000 Salzburg Festival. (I imagine it is one of the orchestra's rare forays into this composer's work.)

Plus, the superb Prokofiev and Stravinsky aren't exactly "fillers," either.

Except that if I never hear the Firebird again, it will be too soon.

[Scarpia]

Continuing my rediscovery of Shnittke, this time listened to a different recording of the concerto for piano 4 hands.

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Schnittke's music can leave so much room for expression that a different performance can sound like a different piece.  I've recently listened to another recording on Cappricio and I definitely have a different impression this time.  It is hard to say if this is because this performance is different, or because I am more familiar with the piece.  The concerto is fairly typical among Schnittke's concertos (in my experience) in that the orchestra seems to attack the soloist, rather than accompany it, for most of the concerto.  The piano seems to be trying to establish a peaceful place, but interjections from the orchestra disrupt this, causing the piano to respond, at times in an aggressive way.

I also listened to the two cello sonatas.  The first begins with a sort of prologue with the cello playing at a slow tempo in mostly consonant double stops, not unlike a passage from one of the Bach suites.  But after interludes from the piano, the cello harmony becomes more and more dissonant.  The second movement is a sort of demonic dance which comes to a crashing stop.  The finale is a meditation which seems detached from the music that came before.

The second cello sonata is one of Schnittke's very last works, and is remarkably grim, tortured music.   

[Lethevich]

I'm glad that the 'cello sonatas are getting some plays - while he is a less harmless choice than someone like Kodály, Schnittke was one of the more distinguished writers for the instrument from the past century.

[Scarpia]

I'm glad that the 'cello sonatas are getting some plays - while he is a less harmless choice than someone like Kodály, Schnittke was one of the more distinguished writers for the instrument from the past century.

I'm not a big fan of Kodaly's writing for cello, which seems more to me like an exercise in seeing what sounds can be extracted from the instrument than an attempt to express something.   The Schnittke second sonata is just a howl of agony.

[not edward]

I'm not a big fan of Kodaly's writing for cello, which seems more to me like an exercise in seeing what sounds can be extracted from the instrument than an attempt to express something.   The Schnittke second sonata is just a howl of agony.

Which recording do you have of the 'cello sonatas? I've tended to prefer Ivashkin, though his performances are painfully intense.

I've just been revisiting the Gutman/Rozhdestvensky recording of the first 'cello concerto. Good as other performances are, Gutman simply owns this work IMO. I've got this recording and a live one that appeared on the short-lived Russian Revelation recording and they are simply in a different class.