# Alfred Schnittke anyone?



## brucknerian (Dec 27, 2013)

Really interesting music from Soviet Russia, but in the period following Shostakovich and into the 1980s and 1990s.

I've been listening to some of his early symphonies, and finding them quite interesting and enjoyable.

One I've been especially listening to is Symphony 3, where at a certain point, an electric guitar comes in and plays with horn section accompanying.

Apparently Schnittke's music is "polystylistic" which means that it takes on multiple musical styles at once. I'm pretty sure I hear some influences from serialism.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Big fan of Schnittke here, too. Polystylism is indeed a significant feature of his work but he didn't overly rely on it during the course of his career - in fact, for the last few years of his life he seemed to abandon it altogether as the textures to his late work often became much sparer. Parody and absurdist elements also pepper his output but he could also simply play it 'straight' and create music of great emotional depth. 

I'm glad that so much of his output is now available - he's been well-served on disc over the last 20 years.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2016)

Me too. Symphonies and some chamber works, especially the SQs.


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## kanishknishar (Aug 10, 2015)

brucknerian said:


> Really interesting music from Soviet Russia, but in the period following Shostakovich and into the 1980s and 1990s.
> 
> I've been listening to some of his early symphonies, and finding them quite interesting and enjoyable.
> 
> ...


One word: Genius.

So much variety in his output. So radical at time. So challenging can his music be. And so rewarding it can also be.

Did you try out his various concertos?


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Big fan here too! One of my all-time favorites. I especially like his piano concerto & concerto grosso no. 1 from my first ever Schnittke cd (label:BIS).


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

This is a composer who I've heard so much about on this forum, but have yet to get into. Based off of what I've seen people bring up here, I'm going to listen his Symphony 1, Choir Concerto 1, Concerto Grosso 1, and Piano Concerto later today when I get the chance.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2016)

Cosmos said:


> This is a composer who I've heard so much about on this forum, but have yet to get into. Based off of what I've seen people bring up here, I'm going to listen his Symphony 1, Choir Concerto 1, Concerto Grosso 1, and Piano Concerto later today when I get the chance.


Strap yourself in! That's a big first bite.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

dogen said:


> Strap yourself in! That's a big first bite.


Mayhaps I'll pull back a little :lol: and just pick 2 of those works


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## Bayreuth (Jan 20, 2015)

The Cello Concerto is nerve-breakingly beautiful. His Canon is very good, too


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