Listening to Schnittke in prep for Saturday Endymion concert of Shostakovich and Schnittke at King's Place. Keep trying with him. What am I missing?
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What pieces are you listening to? And what sort of thing don't you like, is it difficult to understand or not melodic enough or too many layers? Or too depressing and heavy?
for me, Schnittke has got to be one of the easier of modern composers to get into . And theres everything in his works, like there is with Mahler, Shoshtakovich etc.
Of course, his later pieces are more rarefied, using less notes and more atonality. You could say that about the late works of his predicessors!
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You're not alone verismissimo. Try as I might I just can't get on with Schnittke at all, I found his 2nd Symphony one of the most tediously dull pieces I've ever heard. There's something about his music that seems to frustrate me, I can't quite put my finger on what it is, it just grates on me. There aren't many composers I dislike but we all have composers whose music, try as we might, we can't get on with, Schnittke for me is just one of those!Comment
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He seems to lay everything on with a trowel. Banal and noisy simultaneously. I've only listened to orchestral stuff so far. Chamber on Saturday. Glimmer of hope?Originally posted by Suffolkcoastal View PostComment
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I do think his chamber music and his concertos for viola (1) and violin (4) are better (at least more balanced) than the best part of his orchestral music.
But to get "into" Schnittke's output it might be helpful to listen to a couple of chamber works of which orchestrated versions exist as well. Most important of these is the 1972 piano quintet, which was orchestrated in 1978 and published as In memoriam (in remembrance of his mother). Also: the bergian string trio from 1985 was set for string orchestra (1985 as well) and later as piano trio (1992).
The Suite im alten Stil (Suite in the olden style) for violin and piano (1972) was orchestrated and is in that version more popular than its original.
Of the purely orchestral works I think the 1980 Passacaglia is worth trying, as is his Symphony no.5/concerto grosso no.4 (1988); from his vocal output the Faust-Cantata ("Seid nüchtern...", 1982) is IMO worthwile.
I don't want to say that his symphonies and his other orchestral works are boring, but the quality is uneven (even taking in account the physical problems Schnittke had to deal with after the first stroke, meaning that his orchestral writing became more sparse)Comment
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Thanks, Roehre. Interesting pointers.
On Saturday at Kings Place, Endymion will play (in addition to Shostakovich) Schnittke's Piano Quintet
and his Prelude in Memoriam D.Shostakovich.
I'll go with open mind!Comment
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It seems to me that Schnittke's reputation has fallen off a cliff since his death, with performances being more and more rare. So I'm happy to see someone give him a chance, even if it's a struggle! In terms of orchestral works, there are at least three of them that I would rate as worthy as anything else in the concert hall:
Ritual for Large Orchestra (1980), which is basically a 10 minute long crescendo (a form he dabbled in a lot -- like a demented Bruckner) that shows off his typical rich orchestration, before his upteen thousand strokes anyway.
(K)ein Sommernachtstraum (1983), where he takes a charming Mozart-like figure and runs it through a theme-and-variations wringer.
Finally, one Roehre mentioned, which is the Faust Cantata (1982), which is an absolute scream. He sets an ancient Faust text in all its Grand Guignol g(l)ory with a modern orchestra including a musical saw and a bass guitar to comment on the text with the sort of carnival squeaks and squawks that Stalin accused Shostakovich of using.
All three of these works are available on an old BIS label CD which may or may not still be available somewhere. If it's possible to wear out a CD, I've worn this one out.
I think it's best to read most of Schnittke's works as essentially ironic. If he's the successor of Shostakovich as he is often described to be, then its because he's adopted his (and Prokofiev's) sardonic tendencies and darkest music and taken it to a much darker, depressive. bitter place. And when he wants to get REALLY dark and dirty, that's usually when he pulls out a tango. :)
It's too bad that, as people have said here, his work is generally erratic, with some of the later works being real head-scratchers imho. And frankly, his widow's insistence on appropriating his last chicken scratches into a proper "Ninth Symphony" dressed like a Tom Turkey served no one's purposes.Comment
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...I think one does need a sense of humour in particular with Schnittke...Comment
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Schnittke is probably my third favourite composer, after Stravinsky and James Macmillan.
I like symphony no. 1, Requiem, choir concerto, Nagasaki.Comment
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My concurrence with you taste in terms of favourites takes a very steep dive after the first, and pretty much fails to recover, though I have slightly more time for Schnittke's muse than I do for that of James 'I'm a Scots Catholic you know' MacMillan. Perhaps my tastes are more orthodox.
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Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain.Comment
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Well, I certainly got the answer to my original question - what am I missing?Originally posted by verismissimo View Post
Both of the Schnittke pieces that Endymion played are profoundly THEATRICAL. More tragic than comic, but always bringing alive the space in which they are played.
So listening live at a concert transformed the experience. Maybe I'll be able to listen to my recordings with different ears now.
And the Piano Quintet is indeed a fine and deeply moving work. Thanks Roehre.Comment
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...I was about to comment that Charles Ives would have approved- but fine & deeply moving?Comment
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