Schnittke's Symphony No. 3 was commissioned by Professor Kurt Masur, the conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, and Bernd Pachnicke, the director of the Peters publishing house.
Performer Biography
Eri Klas, the conductor, was greatly influenced by his friend David Oistrakh, a renowned violinist, and conductor Boris Khaikin.
Compositional Technique
The musical material for Schnittke's Symphony No. 3 was developed from the monograms of over thirty German composers, ranging from Bach and Mozart to Schoenberg and Henze.
Performer Biography
The Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1914, began its renowned Sibelius tradition under its first chief conductor, Georg Schnéevoigt.
Performer Biography
Eri Klas, the conductor, made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1989, performing Schnittke's Cello Concerto to critical acclaim.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Alfred Schnittke, the composer, questioned the symphony's survival as a musical form, yet continued to compose them despite believing it logically pointless.
