Who is Alfred Schnittke?
Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) was an intense-looking fellow with a strange name who, to my listening, was the foremost composer of symphonic music in the latter half of the 20th century. His predecessor and countryman, Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975), was the greatest in the mid-century, and before them, the first in their exclusive fraternity of what I call the "stretch-out" composers because of the extended lengths of their symphonies, was the Austrian, Gustav Mahler, who straddled the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries (1860-1911). These guys didn't content themselves with hitting singles and doubles. Every time out they swung for the fences, and none more so than Schnittke.
Some would ask why I don't include Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) in this group. The answer is that I have never cared for Bruckner's works. To my ear they lack the powerful drama that I find in the symphonies of the other three.
I first became aware of Schnittke's music years ago when I heard two of his cantatas, one about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the other about the legend of Faust, and I had liked both, as well as several sparely orchestrated concertos that I heard later. But until recently I had never heard any of his symphonies.
A few months ago, after I discovered that Schnittke had written no less than eight symphonies, I decided that it was necessary to collect CD's of all of them -- and to hear them for the first time while I was at it! Aside from justifying spending the money, it's been easy to do, because his music is considered to be difficult, what with his continual excursions into all manner of styles and tonalities, and only a few recordings of each symphony have been made, so it's not hard to choose.
I can remember when, in the early 1950's, the same could be said of Mahler. He was definitely ignored then, along with Bruckner, and when, despite my limited budget I started collecting all his symphonies, too, on the 33-1/3's, there was, generally speaking, only one recording of each symphony available, all on one label, Westminster, and performed by one orchestra, the Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by Hermann Scherchen. But it wasn't long afterward that the rest of the listening world suddenly saw the light, and now it's as if Gustav Mahler has always been a biggie, with many renditions of his compositions in print.
Getting back to Schnittke I've been going with the Russian orchestras whenever I can, though that's not always possible. Not only are their readings likely to be the best, but also Schnittke was a Soviet citizen.
That strikes me as being a little weird, because I see him as being more a German. His father was Jewish, a translator and journalist from Frankfurt, while his mother was a Volga German. In light of the events of World War 2, with the Holocaust and the fearful Russian-German campaign, which must have deeply colored his early life, there must be a tremendous story behind his origins and in his relationship with Soviet Russia. And maybe he gives us that story in the wide-ranging breadth, depth, and intensity of his music.
So far I'm on track. I now have the first five of Alfred Schnittke's symphonies, and I haven't been disappointed by any of them. In fact I've already placed at least one of them not only among the top symphonies in the 20th Century but also in all of classical music!
Meanwhile here is the conclusion of a short article written by Schnittke in 1981. I hope that it will give you a taste in words of the apparently contradictory but still harmonious statements that he makes with his myriad notes, chords, staves, and what-not.
I do not know whether or not the symphony will survive as a musical form. I very much hope that it will and I attempt to compose symphonies, although it is clear to me that logically it is pointless. The tensions of this form, which are based upon a tonal perception of space and on dynamic contrast, are paralysed by the present material-technical point of view. Nevertheless there is hope: in art, the impossible has a chance of success whilst the certain is always deceptive and hopeless.
Some would ask why I don't include Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) in this group. The answer is that I have never cared for Bruckner's works. To my ear they lack the powerful drama that I find in the symphonies of the other three.
I first became aware of Schnittke's music years ago when I heard two of his cantatas, one about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the other about the legend of Faust, and I had liked both, as well as several sparely orchestrated concertos that I heard later. But until recently I had never heard any of his symphonies.
A few months ago, after I discovered that Schnittke had written no less than eight symphonies, I decided that it was necessary to collect CD's of all of them -- and to hear them for the first time while I was at it! Aside from justifying spending the money, it's been easy to do, because his music is considered to be difficult, what with his continual excursions into all manner of styles and tonalities, and only a few recordings of each symphony have been made, so it's not hard to choose.
I can remember when, in the early 1950's, the same could be said of Mahler. He was definitely ignored then, along with Bruckner, and when, despite my limited budget I started collecting all his symphonies, too, on the 33-1/3's, there was, generally speaking, only one recording of each symphony available, all on one label, Westminster, and performed by one orchestra, the Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by Hermann Scherchen. But it wasn't long afterward that the rest of the listening world suddenly saw the light, and now it's as if Gustav Mahler has always been a biggie, with many renditions of his compositions in print.
Getting back to Schnittke I've been going with the Russian orchestras whenever I can, though that's not always possible. Not only are their readings likely to be the best, but also Schnittke was a Soviet citizen.
That strikes me as being a little weird, because I see him as being more a German. His father was Jewish, a translator and journalist from Frankfurt, while his mother was a Volga German. In light of the events of World War 2, with the Holocaust and the fearful Russian-German campaign, which must have deeply colored his early life, there must be a tremendous story behind his origins and in his relationship with Soviet Russia. And maybe he gives us that story in the wide-ranging breadth, depth, and intensity of his music.
So far I'm on track. I now have the first five of Alfred Schnittke's symphonies, and I haven't been disappointed by any of them. In fact I've already placed at least one of them not only among the top symphonies in the 20th Century but also in all of classical music!
Meanwhile here is the conclusion of a short article written by Schnittke in 1981. I hope that it will give you a taste in words of the apparently contradictory but still harmonious statements that he makes with his myriad notes, chords, staves, and what-not.
I do not know whether or not the symphony will survive as a musical form. I very much hope that it will and I attempt to compose symphonies, although it is clear to me that logically it is pointless. The tensions of this form, which are based upon a tonal perception of space and on dynamic contrast, are paralysed by the present material-technical point of view. Nevertheless there is hope: in art, the impossible has a chance of success whilst the certain is always deceptive and hopeless.
posted by Carl (aka Sofarsogoo) | 7:06 AM
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