Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

It's a shame that the popularity Schnittke enjoyed in the 1990s faded away after his death, and I really hope there is a renewed interest in his work in the West, because the fate of his oeuvre as a whole is very bleak in Russia.  So much dissident art in the former USSR is now being swept under the rug since it makes people uncomfortable. For example, as long as Putin is alive, it's hard to imagine a performance of Life with an Idiot by any state ensemble, because the reference to Vova (Vladimir Lenin) could just as easily be taken as a reference to another man named Vova (Vladimir Putin).

I was skeptical of your claim so I went to the Moscow concert aggregator Meloman.ru and did a search for Schnittke performances. Only one came up for the 2016-17 season. A few years ago, one could expect several Schnittke performances per season, although he was never all that popular to begin with.

I doubt this is due primarily to political reasons, because most of his oeuvre is non-political. Ironically, he probably enjoyed a lot more exposure in the 1970s-80s (i.e. still Soviet times) than he does now.

[snyprrr]

exactly HOW Russian was Schnitkke?

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

exactly HOW Russian was Schnitkke?

Well...you can't put a percentage on it but he had a very mixed background, which is reflected in his music and poly-stylistic approach.

His Wiki entry calls him "a Soviet and German composer" which seems about right.

[Mirror Image]

exactly HOW Russian was Schnitkke?

He was born in Russia but he had no Russian blood in his body. His mother was a Volga German and his dad was German Jewish. He's regarded as a Russian composer, though.

[snyprrr]

He was born in Russia but he had no Russian blood in his body. His mother was a Volga German and his dad was German Jewish. He's regarded as a Russian composer, though.

So, technically, he's neither Russian OR Jewish! LOL Sneaky Krauts!!!!

[Karl Henning]

High time I got those Violin Concerti.

[snyprrr]

High time I got those Violin Concerti.

Try the "No.5"... the Concerto Grosso No.5, actually a Violin Concerto, with Kremer/DG... I think it's one of his most Abstrakt Werks. I like 'em all, the Teldec set is great. buyBuyBUY!!!

[Karl Henning]

Try the "No.5"... the Concerto Grosso No.5, actually a Violin Concerto, with Kremer/DG.

Aye, I have got that one, varrrry nice.

[chadfeldheimer]

So, technically, he's neither Russian OR Jewish! LOL Sneaky Krauts!!!!

In an interview Schnittke once stated, that he nowwhere really felt at home. For the Russians he was a German, for the Germans a Russian, for the Catholics a Jew, for the Jews a Catholic. An conflict that is also reflected in his music. Now that he is regarded a great composer, I have the feeling it's getting into the opposite direction and everyone claims he is one of them  .   

[Karl Henning]

In an interview Schnittke once stated, that he nowwhere really felt at home. For the Russians he was a German, for the Germans a Russian, for the Catholics a Jew, for the Jews a Catholic. An conflict that is also reflected in his music. Now that he is regarded a great composer, I have the feeling it's getting into the opposite direction and everyone claims he is one of them  .   

The ghost of Mahler says, "Get in line, buddy."

[Maestro267]

I'm really starting to enjoy Schnittke's music. The 1st Symphony is one of the craziest works ever written, but it's a brilliant kind of crazy. I love how much of his music starts off sounding quite pleasant and tonal, but then gradually, modern dissonances start creeping in and taking over. His orchestration is great as well; the use of all the major keyboard instruments in one work (piano, celesta, harpsichord and organ, sometimes also synthesizer.) Another element is the incorporation of electric and bass guitars while still maintaining a "normal" classical sound world. In other works (Bernstein's Mass, Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and Experience), those guitars are included in passages that sound distinctly like rock/pop music.

[Mirror Image]

I'm really starting to enjoy Schnittke's music. The 1st Symphony is one of the craziest works ever written, but it's a brilliant kind of crazy. I love how much of his music starts off sounding quite pleasant and tonal, but then gradually, modern dissonances start creeping in and taking over. His orchestration is great as well; the use of all the major keyboard instruments in one work (piano, celesta, harpsichord and organ, sometimes also synthesizer.) Another element is the incorporation of electric and bass guitars while still maintaining a "normal" classical sound world. In other works (Bernstein's Mass, Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and Experience), those guitars are included in passages that sound distinctly like rock/pop music.

Great to read. What else have you heard so far?

[Maestro267]

Great to read. What else have you heard so far?

I've had the recordings of the 1st and 3rd Symphonies for a few months, and I've just ordered a third disc, with Ritual, (K)ein Sommernachtstraum, Passacaglia and the Faust Cantata. I definitely want to get Nagasaki too; I heard it the other day and was blown away by the awesome power of the middle movement. A feeling akin to the climax of the first movt. of Shostakovich 7.

[Mirror Image]

I've had the recordings of the 1st and 3rd Symphonies for a few months, and I've just ordered a third disc, with Ritual, (K)ein Sommernachtstraum, Passacaglia and the Faust Cantata. I definitely want to get Nagasaki too; I heard it the other day and was blown away by the awesome power of the middle movement. A feeling akin to the climax of the first movt. of Shostakovich 7.

Fantastic! You'll love that Faust Cantata recording. Do check out his massive ballet Peer Gynt, cello concerti, the Concerto for Piano and Strings, and the Viola Concerto. These are all masterpieces. The Piano Quintet is also very much worth your time as is his Requiem. So much great stuff awaits you!

[Reckoner]

the Viola Concerto. ...

Terrific piece. 

I like Kronos Quartet's arrangement of the second movement from the Choir Concerto, titled: "Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled with Grief".

Is on this album:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronos_Quartet_Performs_Alfred_Schnittke:_The_Complete_String_Quartets

[Mirror Image]

Terrific piece. 

I like Kronos Quartet's arrangement of the second movement from the Choir Concerto, titled: "Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled with Grief".

Is on this album:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronos_Quartet_Performs_Alfred_Schnittke:_The_Complete_String_Quartets

Certainly is. I like that arrangement as well. Beautiful.

[ludwigii]

As I have already written in the listening section of the forum, after many years I've been listening to Schnittke's music in a disorderly manner, having become aware that he is one of the composers that most interest me, I decided to listen to and deepen his entire production in chronological order.
One of the reasons for which I have been profoundly captured by this composer is the thrilling emotionality of his music  .

I like the definition that is given by the French wikipedia:

"Très influencé par Gustav Mahler, Schnittke se veut spirituellement engagé. Il est l'auteur, entre autres, de douze concertos, dix symphonies, six concerti grossi, une soixantaine de musiques de film et une œuvre abondante de musique de chambre. Inclassable – il aime citer Anton Rubinstein : « pour les classiques, je suis un futuriste, pour les futuristes, je suis un réactionnaire » –, sachant créer le scandale comme l'enthousiasme, Schnittke suscite des avis partagés et souvent passionnés de la part des musicologues et critiques. Ses satires polystylistiques, qualifiées de « bonbons acides » par le critique américain Alex Ross, même s'ils présentent Alfred Schnittke sous l'image fausse d'un ironiste facile, sont une voie d'entrée efficace dans le courant dont, maître de l'ironie1, il se présente comme le principal initiateur en musique: le polystylisme1. Immanquablement politisée, la musique de Schnittke est donc vulnérable à une étude purement historico-politique. Reste que sa musique profondément expressionniste contribue, par sa force et une dramaturgie souvent violente, à faire de Schnittke une figure majeure de la musique de la fin du xxe siècle."

I think here is well defined.
He can be a controversial composer, but what it strikes is his huge dramatic strength.

In these days I'm listening to the symphony no.0 and "Nagasaki", works of apprenticeship.
Among the first works that I listened there was the First Concerto Grosso and "Peer Gynt", both two masterpieces.
The ballet is a work of unique intensity. For me it was a huge shock.

[ludwigii]

If we want to start from the end, here you can see a short video of the composer's funeral.

Moscow, Russia, 10 August 1998

http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/RUSSIA-MOSCOW-FUNERAL-OF-COMPOSER-ALFRED-SCHNITTKE/a01c8a4924bc3b205b1b8a3aa44977a3?#

[ludwigii]

Another news, soon will be available a new book, Schnittke Studies, by Gavin Dixon.

https://www.routledge.com/Schnittke-Studies/Dixon/p/book/9781472471055

But I would like to read another book, "Conversations with Schnittke" (Беседы с Альфредом Шнитке), by Alexander Ivashkin, so far only in Russian

[Mirror Image]

If we want to start from the end, here you can see a short video of the composer's funeral.

Moscow, Russia, 10 August 1998

http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/RUSSIA-MOSCOW-FUNERAL-OF-COMPOSER-ALFRED-SCHNITTKE/a01c8a4924bc3b205b1b8a3aa44977a3?#

Of course, I agree with what you've written. Also, thanks for this link. Fascinating to watch.