The opening of Schnittke's Seventh Symphony features a solo violin passage that serves as a public remembrance of his friend and interpreter, Oleg Kagan, a violinist who died of cancer in 1990.
Composition History
Schnittke's Seventh Symphony, composed in 1993, is dedicated to Kurt Masur, who premiered it with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in February 1994.
Performer Biography
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, established in 1987, has achieved international recognition, performing in major musical capitals and at the Proms in London each season.
Composition History
Alfred Schnittke dedicated his Symphony No. 6 to Mstislav Rostropovich and the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, who premiered it in Moscow in 1993.
Performer Biography
Tadaaki Otaka, the conductor on this album, comes from a musical family; his father was a conductor and composer, and his mother was a pianist.
Compositional Technique
In the Sixth Symphony, Schnittke consciously invokes the instrumentation and vocal writing essence of his Faust opera, particularly through the use of brass instruments.
Composition History
Schnittke's composing of the Sixth Symphony in 1992 coincided with his orchestration of the first two acts of his opera, Historia von D. Johann Fausten, sharing thematic material and instrumentation.
