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Alfred Schnittke April 6, 1989, Moscow
Alfred Schnittke April 6, 1989, Moscow

Alfred Garyevich Schnittke (Russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, November 24, 1934 Engels - August 3, 1998 Hamburg) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Events 380 - Theodosius I makes his adventus, or formal Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Engels (Э́нгельс is a city in Saratov Oblast, Russia. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich ( Russian: ru Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович ( &ndash 9 August 1975 was a Russian Composer He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony (1969-1972) and First Concerto Grosso (1977). Polystylism is the use of multiple styles or techniques of music and is seen as a Postmodern characteristic The concerto grosso ( Italian for big concert(o, Plural concerti grossi) is a form of Baroque music in which the musical material In the 1980s, Schnittke's music began to become more widely known abroad. In the 1980s, he wrote his Second (1980) and Third (1983) String Quartets and the String Trio (1985); a ballet Peer Gynt (1985-1987); the Third (1981), Fourth (1984) and Fifth (1988) Symphonies and the Viola (1985) and 1st Cello (1985-1986) Concertos. Peer Gynt (per gʏnt is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. As his health further deteriorated, Schnittke's music started to abandon much of the extroversion of his polystylism and retreat into a more withdrawn, bleak style.

Contents

Biography

Schnittke's father was born in Frankfurt to a Jewish family of Russian origin who had moved to the USSR in 1926, and his mother was a Volga German born in Russia. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Volga Germans (Wolgadeutsche or Russlanddeutsche) were Ethnic Germans living along the Volga River in the region of southern European Russia

Alfred Schnittke was born in Engels in the Volga-German Republic of the RSFSR, Soviet Union. Engels (Э́нгельс is a city in Saratov Oblast, Russia. The Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ( German: Autonome Sozialistische Sowjetrepublik der Wolgadeutschen, abbreviated A The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 He began his musical education in 1946 in Vienna where his father, a journalist and translator, had been posted. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. In 1948 the family moved to Moscow. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of He completed his graduate work in composition at the Moscow Conservatory in 1961 and taught there from 1962 to 1972. The Moscow Conservatory (Московская Государственная Консерватория им Thereafter he supported himself mainly by composing film scores. Schnittke converted to Christianity and possessed deeply held mystic beliefs which influenced his music. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Mysticism (from the Greek grc μυστικός mystikos, an initiate of a Mystery religion) is the pursuit of communion with identity In the 1960s he studied at the Moscow Conservatory where, among his teachers in composition, was Evgeny Golubev. Evgeny Kirillovich Golubev (Евгений Кириллович Голубев ( February 16 1910, Moscow &ndash December 25 1988

Schnittke was often the target of the Soviet bureaucracy. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. His First Symphony was effectively banned by the Composers' Union, and after he abstained from a Composers' Union vote in 1980 he was banned from travelling outside of the USSR. A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. The USSR Union of Composers or Union of Composers of the USSR (Союз композиторов СССР (also Union of Composers or Composers’ Union Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) In 1985, Schnittke suffered a stroke which left him in a coma. A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain In Medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep is a profound state of Unconsciousness. He was declared clinically dead on several occasions but recovered and continued to compose. In 1990, Schnittke left Russia and settled in Hamburg. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany His health remained poor, however, and he suffered several more strokes before his death on August 3, 1998 in Hamburg. Events 8 - Roman Empire General Tiberius defeats Dalmatians on the river Bathinus. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar)

Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich, but after the visit of the Italian composer Luigi Nono to the USSR he took up the serial technique in works such as Music for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1964). Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich ( Russian: ru Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович ( &ndash 9 August 1975 was a Russian Composer Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Luigi Nono ( January 29, 1924 – May 8, 1990) was an Italian Avant-garde Composer of Classical music In Music, serialism is a technique for composition that uses sets to describe musical elements, and allows the manipulation of those However, Schnittke soon became dissatisfied with what he termed the "puberty rites of serial self-denial" and moved on to a new style which has been called "polystylism", where music of various different styles past and present are juxtaposed (the composer once wrote "The goal of my life is to unify serious music and light music, even if I break my neck in doing so"). Polystylism is the use of multiple styles or techniques of music and is seen as a Postmodern characteristic The first concert work to use the polystylistic technique was the Second Violin Sonata, Quasi una sonata (1967-1968), but the influence of Schnittke's film work on his stylistic development is shown by the fact that much of the music of this work was derived from a score for the animation short The Glass Harmonica. Polystylism is the use of multiple styles or techniques of music and is seen as a Postmodern characteristic A violin sonata is a musical composition for solo Violin, which is nearly always accompanied by a Piano or other keyboard instrument or by Figured bass The history of Russian animation is a very rich but so far nearly unexplored field for Western Film theory and history He continued to develop the polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony (1969-1972) and First Concerto Grosso (1977), but also composed more stylistically unified works such as the Piano Quintet (1972-1976), written in memory of his recently deceased mother. Polystylism is the use of multiple styles or techniques of music and is seen as a Postmodern characteristic The concerto grosso ( Italian for big concert(o, Plural concerti grossi) is a form of Baroque music in which the musical material A piano quintet is a chamber Musical ensemble made up of one Piano and four other instruments or a piece written for such a group

In the 1980s, Schnittke's music began to become more widely known abroad, thanks in part to the work of emigre Soviet artists such as the violinists Gidon Kremer and Mark Lubotsky. Gidon Kremer (Gidons Krēmers (born February 27, 1947) is a Latvian Violinist and conductor. Despite constant illness, he produced a large amount of music, including important works such as the Second (1980) and Third (1983) String Quartets and the String Trio (1985); the Faust Cantata (1983), which he later incorporated in his opera Historia von D. Johann Fausten; the ballet Peer Gynt (1985-1987); the Third (1981), Fourth (1984) and Fifth (1988) Symphonies (the last of which incorporates his Fourth Concerto Grosso) and the Viola (1985) and 1st Cello (1985-1986) Concertos. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Historia von D Johann Fausten is an opera by the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998 in three acts with introduction and epilogue to the German libretto by Jörg Peer Gynt (per gʏnt is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

As his health further deteriorated, Schnittke's music started to abandon much of the extroversion of his polystylism and retreat into a more withdrawn, bleak style. The Fourth Quartet (1989) and Sixth (1992), Seventh (1993) and Eighth (1994) symphonies are good examples of this, and some Schnittke scholars such as Gerard McBurney have argued that it is the late works which will ultimately be the most influential parts of Schnittke's output. After a further stroke in 1994 left him almost completely paralysed, Schnittke largely ceased to compose, though some short works emerged in 1997 and a Ninth Symphony was left almost unreadable at his death, now being encoded by Alexander Raskatov. A stroke is the rapidly developing loss of brain functions due to a disturbance in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain

Selected Works

Orchestra

Symphonies

Other Orchestral


Concertos

Concerti Grossi

Violin Concertos

Piano Concertos

Other Instruments


Choral Music

Chamber Music

Solo Instrumental


Operas

Ballets

Motion Picture Soundtracks

Further reading

External links

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