Roman Mints presents the complete works for violin and piano by Alfred Schnittke.

Schittke's music for these four films sounds just like Schnittke, big surprise. Leaving out his late works, most of which are just plain miserable, his eclectic poly-stylistic mode of composition makes him a "natural" composer for the cinema, and all four of the suites on display here show him in vintage form. There are those wonderful pastiche pieces of fake "classical" music, several tangos, foxtrots, and the like, all fertilized by Schnittke's slightly twisted way of looking at such things, and there's plenty of very creepy mood music. He gets tremendous mileage from simple effects: the sound of the harpsichord in unexpected places, sparing touches of percussion, persistent rhythmic ostinatos, snatches of popular tunes (there's a particularly pungent setting of the Marseillaise here), and the eerie wordless chorus in My Past and Thoughts.


The most remarkable thing about all of this music is its economy and sureness of touch: there's not a note too much. Every mood expresses itself immediately, with no preliminaries. If I haven't gone into the specifics of the four suites that extensively, it's because they have so much in common with each other, and sound so typical of what we already know of the composer, that they are really best considered together. Frank Strobel leads the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with a sure hand, and he's very atmospherically recorded too. This is a major addition to the discography of a very remarkable composer, and great fun. Don't miss it.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Producer(s) Igor Veprintsev Sound Engineer(s) Elena Buneeva Vladimir Kisselev Recorded in: Mosfilm Studio, Moscow May 1996 Recorded in: Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory June 1996

Classical Music

The newest recording from the SWR Vocal Ensemble presents a stunning program of choral music by Alfred Schnittke. The polished excellence of the SWR Vocal Ensemble is a perfect match for Schnittke’s command of vocal composition. This recording is a must-have for both choral enthusiasts and contemporary music mavens.

The tradition of composing a funeral mass dates back to the times of the late Middle Ages, but it was brought to artistic perfection by later composers. Alfred Schnittke initially wore the intention of writing a small instrumental Requiem, which was to be one of the parts of the Piano Quintet. Eventually, however, he rejected this idea and created a fourteen-part Requiem. The work is expressive and full of dramatic contrasts. The instrumental parts of electric guitars of a set of drums surprisingly refer to the composer’s polistylist interests. Composed in the same stream, the three religious songs refer to Orthodox church music, introducing a mood of contemplative reflection and prayer reverie.

SCHNITTKE: Cello Concerto / Stille Musik / Cello Sonata

SCHNITTKE: Cello Concerto / Stille Musik / Cello Sonata

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music