Search - Alfred Schnittke, Christoph von Dohnányi, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra :: Alfred Schnittke: Concerti Grossi 1 & 5; Quasi una sonata

Schnittke + Kremer X 3

R. Hutchinson | a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds | 02/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"DG has put together a very smart reissue here. "Concerto grosso 1" and "Quasi una sonata" for violin and chamber orchestra were originally released in 1989. "Concerto grosso 5" has been rescued from its original 1993 release back-to-back with a Glass piece, and is now united with the other Kremer performances of Schnittke. The entire disc is a showcase for Gidon Kremer, who was Schnittke's friend and champion. Dohnanyi and the Vienna Philharmonic are amazing on "5", clearly outshining Schiff and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, which perform with Kremer on the 1989 recordings. If you enjoy this music as much as I do, you should not miss Schnittke's violin concertos, played by Kremer (on Teldec) and his string quartets, played by Kronos (on Nonesuch) -- see my reviews of both. And don't miss Gubaidulina either -- DG 20/21 has recently released works for viola with Bashmet, and reissued OFFERTORIUM with Kremer -- see my review.



Schnittke called the 1977 piece an example of "polystylism," and sure enough there are elements of baroque and quotes from various composers, as well as a brief tango, but these are resolutely dissonant, modern works -- don't be misled into thinking otherwise. The ECM-esque cover photo is a great touch, credit to the DG 20/21 team.



I consider Schnittke to be one of the best late 20th century composers -- see my ALFRED SCHNITTKE'S TRAGICOMIC SOUNDWORLD for more recordings and reviews."

Another essential Schnittke

paul best | new orleans | 01/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lets get facts straight, as I see on a classical chat site where this guy rates Schnittke a 7 out of 10, and Shostakovich a 10. Schnittke was not second to Shostakovich in any aspects of writing. Both write from different styles, yet Schnittke draws on Shostakovich as MUCH AS HE NEEDED. You see Schnittke was not afraid to "borrow" ideas from any composer.

Frankly I know of no other composer that si as ecelitic and dynamic as Schnittke, thgough as I say Shostakovich was just as eloquent and expressive.

. Obviously one can't make a direct comparison, both composers are acknowledged as masters in russia, and the musical world in russia are in agreement that Schnittke was Shosty's true heir. Though Schnittke was not purely russian, but german, russian, and viennese as well, he lived in all 3 places due to the war. . A true eccletic composer.

Schnittke along with Allan Pettersson are the 2 last of the great composers starting with Bach. Both are far superior to Both learned from Stravinsky, others, and moved on fropm Stravinsy's ballets. . (I brought up Stravinsky because I see so many classicphiles who just can't for whatever reason, move beyond Stravinsky. Stravinsky to me was a pop hit/the talk of the town so to speak, in his days in Paris/America, but since has been surpassed by quite a few, Stravinsky was mainly for ballet, this is where his genius lays. )

Schnittke really has no minor works, 95% or what he wrote is superior writing, more that Shostakovich who indeed has a few less than stellar works. .

Performance quiality on this cd is top notch, as is all of Kremer's recordings in Schnittke.

Read Hutchinson's excellent reviews on Schnittke.

Schnittke represents the culmination of 20th century high art in classical music.

I highly recommend to all Schnittke fans the book, A Schnittke Reader/editor Ivashkin.

Schnittke was as great in music as he was in philosophical and religious thought. An amazing individual of a powerful and profound mind



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