# Where I Recommend to Start with Schnittke



## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

These pieces will give the listener an easy going introduction. I recommend staring out with his more tonal music before one launches into the deep.

Suite in the Old Style for Violin & Piano: 




Story of an unknown actor, op. 125: 



 [I wish there was a better recording of this on youtube.]

Declaration of Love: 




The whole point of recommending these pieces is not to scare the listener away. One can easily conclude, by listening to Schnittke's more advanced pieces, that Schnittke is merely trying to provoke a shock. This is not the case. The point is to get the listener to understand that there is substance in his music... unlike like SO MANY modern composers, he is not merely engaging in the exercise of theory.

Only after one affirms his quality as a composer should one take on his more demanding pieces.

*I know there's lots of Schnittke fans on this forum. Maybe you disagree with my advice, maybe you have a better approach? My main goal is to get people to take his music serious. If you agree with my approach then what do you think should come next, or what are some other pieces you would recommend by way of introduction? *

I think these further assist with integration:

Agony: 




Symphony No.0 [Andante]: 




Piano Quintet:


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

Klassic said:


> unlike like SO MANY modern composers, he is not merely engaging in the exercise of theory.


Care to name one?


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## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

Mahlerian said:


> Care to name one?


Marcel Tyberg. But this is not the point of this thread. I understand I did make the claim, and I understand: I am obligated to back it up, but for a prolonged discussion on this it is probably better to start another thread (although I can't promise that I will be able to go back and forth for any length of time). I would also need to clarify my point. Better to stick to Schnittke here.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Klassic said:


> Marcel Tyberg.


I bet _no one_ expected that answer. :lol:

The first-ever Schnittke work I heard was the Concerto Grosso no.1. I had heard nothing like it at the time (well, in fairness, I'd heard lots of things that bits of it are like) and it still remains my favourite. For someone who was new to "modern" music and under the impression it was all difficult and unlovable, that piece was a revelation.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

I think the best music to introduce Schnittke depends on the person to whom you are introducing him. In my case, works that clearly link him in an unbroken tradition to earlier 20thc Russian composers, particularly Shostakovich and Miaskovsky, were my way in. For someone with a strong background in these and other 20thc Russians, I would recommend the Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, Symphonies nos 7 and 3, and the 3rd and 4th string quartets.


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## Klassic (Dec 19, 2015)

EdwardBast said:


> I think the best music to introduce Schnittke depends on the person to whom you are introducing him. In my case, works that clearly link him in an unbroken tradition to earlier 20thc Russian composers, particularly Shostakovich and Miaskovsky, were my way in. For someone with a strong background in these and other 20thc Russians, I would recommend the Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra, Symphonies nos 7 and 3, and the 3rd and 4th string quartets.


I very much love Schnittke's Concerto for Piano and Strings. My thought is that most people are coming from a more traditional classical background... in which case... Schnittke's more advanced music (tonally speaking) will merely sound like noise. I think it might surprise some people to hear him compose with more traditional resolution (in contrast to his often used dissonance). The Concerto is a good recommendation.


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