Michael Cunningham
American novelist and screenwriter
Alfred Garrievich Schnittkewas a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody as a “composer who was concerned in his music to depict the moral and spiritual struggles of contemporary man in […] depth and detail.”
Schnittke’s early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich.
Table of Contents
Family Info
Siblings
Viktor Schnittke
Spouses
Irina Schnittke
Children
Andrej Schnittke
About the Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Garrievich Schnittkewas a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody as a “composer who was concerned in his music to depict the moral and spiritual struggles of contemporary man in […] depth and detail.”
Schnittke’s early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic Symphony No. 1and his first concerto grossoand thirdstring quartets and the String Triosymphonies; and the viola concertoand first cello concerto (1985-1986). As his health deteriorated, Schnittke’s music started to abandon much of the extroversion of his polystylism and retreated into a more withdrawn, bleak style.
5 Quotes by Alfred Schnittke
- 1.
Do you know that my very first experience as a composer was a ‘Concerto for Accordion?’
Alfred SchnittkeSoviet-born Russian composer (1934-1998)
- 2.
I am not facing the problem of emigration. I want my music to be acknowledged here first of all, in this country: after that, we shall see – perhaps the question will than become urgent.
Alfred SchnittkeSoviet-born Russian composer (1934-1998)
- 3.
I would wake up in Moscow or somewhere else, my heart beating fast, feeling bitter and helpless.
Alfred SchnittkeSoviet-born Russian composer (1934-1998)
- 4.
For a solo work I need a definite idea. For the present I have none.
Alfred SchnittkeSoviet-born Russian composer (1934-1998)
- 5.
For almost thirty years I repeatedly saw one and the same dream: I would arrive in Vienna at long last. I would feel really happy, for I was returning to my serene childhood.
Alfred SchnittkeSoviet-born Russian composer (1934-1998)