Composer Alfred Schnittke Was Born in 1934

Schnittke was best known for his Concerto Grosso No. 1 and the Violin Concerto No. 4. 

 

A Russian composer, Schnittke was known for his polystylism, where he intermixed serious, dark tones with radically different, often contradictory styles.

A winner of the Praemium Imperiale, awarded by the Japan Art Association for lifetime achievement in the arts, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where he later taught composition.

Schnittke's Symphony No. 6 (1993) was premiered by the National Symphony Orchestra by the dedicatee himself, Mstislav Rostropovich, in New York City in 1994.

A prolific composer, his output included 9 symphonies, 6 concerti grossi, 3 operas, 3 ballets, 4 violin concertos, 4 piano concertos, 2 cello concertos, 3 viola concertos, 2 violin sonatas and 4 string quartets.

He wrote a large volume of film scores, with more than 60 scores between 1961 and 1984. His Concerto Grosso No. 1 and the Violin Concerto No. 4. are among his best known works.

Schnittke was buried, with state honors, at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow alongside many prominent Russian composers — including Dmitri Shostakovich.

 

GIDON KREMER, TATIANA GRINDENKO & KREMERATA BALTICA | SCHNITTKE CONCERTO GROSSO NO. 1