CCCLXXXVI. SCHNITTKE, Alfred (1934-1998)
The rightful heir to the Shostakovich symphonic tradition, Schnittke seems to have cleverly avoided the Curse of the Ninth by numbering a student work as Symphony #0, thus making this -- technically -- his 10th!
Completed two years before his death, and written with his left hand due to a series of serious strokes, the manuscript was barely readable -- and it took three tries before it became performable (Rozhdestvensky, Korndorf and finally Raskatov) ...
First Movement
Shostakovich meets Arvo Pärt meets György Ligeti. Scaling quarter-notes devolve into lonesome clarinet, trombone and tuba solos. (tuba in its higher range, quite beautiful: 9:44) ...
Near the end of the movement loud brass chorales collide with woodwinds and screeching strings -- suddenly a vibraphone enters the mix ... magical orchestration ...
Second Movement
The tempo picks up slightly. It will become increasingly faster as we head towards the inevitable finish ... death beckons ... quintuplets rise and fall (listen for the harpsichord!) ... brass and strings intrude to interrupt the pulse ... the sonic landscape is a Ligeti-like haze ... the pulse returns ... the last moments resolve into a soft major chord ...
Third Movement
Third Movement
Here is a substantial Shostakovich influence. Woodwinds flurry over rhythmic strings; Schnittke constantly changing the dynamics, wind choirs interrupted by brass and percussion; lots of stretto, or half-beat canons.
Unexpected tempo changes and surprise entrances, reminiscent of DS's Fourth (see Post VIII) ...
Unexpected tempo changes and surprise entrances, reminiscent of DS's Fourth (see Post VIII) ...
No comments:
Post a Comment