Schnittke: Quasi Una Sonata / Suite in the Old Style / Concerto Grosso No. 6

Featuring

Ralf Gothóni
Ulf Wallin
Tero Latvala
Meri Englund
Tapiola Sinfonietta
Alfred Schnittke

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Compositional Technique

Schnittke's extensive work for cinema, with its non-linear and picture-centred mode of composition, significantly influenced the development of his instrumental style.

Historical Context

Under the Soviet system, composers were often seen as co-creators of films, making film scoring an attractive venue for experimentation for Schnittke.

Composer Biography

Alfred Schnittke was a prolific film composer during the 1960s and 70s, writing some sixty film scores over his career.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Schnittke's hallmark compositional style became 'polystylism,' which incorporates historical sources or techniques into a modernistic context.

Compositional Technique

Schnittke explained that using a tonal chord was important to him after many years of serialist composition, relating to the dichotomy between tonal and atonal elements.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Schnittke argued that the idea of polystylism, while central to his work, was not new, stating that 'Polystylistic elements have long existed in European music'.