# Schnittke symphonies: fave recordings and recommendations



## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

Greetings.

BIS has the complete set of Schnittke symphonies. I don't know of another option for a box-set of the complete symphonies; have I missed it?

Also interested in your favorite recordings (and why).

TIA,
-09


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

I can't believe I haven't seen this thread!

Schnittke is one of my favorite composers; my favorite of his symphonies are probably 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The first and eighth are especially masterpieces are show off the composer's polystylism and bleak, late style following multiple seizures. The BIS is a fine recording, and I doesn't have much competition - I recommend you get it if you intend on exploring Schnittke's symphonies.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

Portamento said:


> I can't believe I haven't seen this thread!
> 
> Schnittke is one of my favorite composers; my favorite of his symphonies are probably 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The first and eighth are especially masterpieces are show off the composer's polystylism and bleak, late style following multiple seizures. The BIS is a fine recording, and I doesn't have much competition - I recommend you get it if you intend on exploring Schnittke's symphonies.


Thanks, Portamento. Schnittke is one of my long-time heroes. Especially his string quartets. I have probably half or more of his symphonies. I was looking to fill in the gaps, and found the box set, which is likely less $ than individually buying the ones I'm missing. Thanks again.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I too have the BIS box set of the complete Schnittke symphonies, and it's a treasure. Unfortunately, there are not a great many alternatives to these symphonies yet recorded on other labels. But there are some.

I have several of the symphonies on discs from the CHANDOS label and at least one (the 2nd) on a BBC Radio Classics disc. It's worth comparing what few versions exist, since Schnittke seems way open for interpretation.

By the way, you might be interested in reading this article on the music of Schnittke. The comments on the First Symphony, comments near the beginning of the article, are quite telling.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/t...fred-schnittke-contemporary-music-tom-service

The First Symphony is a true monster. I recall my first hearing of it. I didn't make it through the entire work. It took some time for me to finally get to hear the entire 70 plus minute monster fully formed. I always had the impression that the symphony itself was presenting multiple reasons to stop listening to it, almost as if the composer were saying "This is too outrageous. Stop listening. What are you? Nuts?" I took a few starts into the monster before I could be completely nuts. But that First, for all its outrageousness, remains my favorite Schnittke symphony. Probably _because_ it is so outrageous.

By the way ... the cover art for those BIS Schnittke discs is quite intriguing:





















The design is by Esa Tanttu.

Here's a listing of the entire BIS series of Schnittke's music. This is a great collection.

http://bis.se/schnittke-edition


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

1 - Rozhdestvensky (Melodiya, rec.1987)
2 - Segerstam (BIS, rec.1994)
7 - Polyansky (Chandos, rec.1999)
8 - Rozhdestvensky (Chandos, rec.1994)

Why? Because in comparison I liked their reading, performance, and sound. Cheers! :tiphat:


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