Thank you very much – I have only just latched on to these recordings, having somehow “gone off” the composer for a while i.e. a couple of years. I don’t mind the hiss on these recordings at all, as the sound of the instruments is so clearly rendered. These string quartets are a very good port of re-entry. I would be grateful for the name of the quartet(s) performing them, if you still have it/them.
Thanks for the comment Martin – i’m sorry, i hadn’t realised i’d omitted the names of the performers! Now corrected; will be checking the rest of the Schnittke posts too.
Mikko
4 years ago
Thanks for this post. You manage to put the music well into words!
I discovered Schnittke’s music a few years back. I am more into his later stuff that the “polystylistic” compositions he became first known for. I especially like the string quartets 2 & 4, the piano quintet, the violin concerto No. 4 and the cello concerto No. 1. The viola concerto is superb too.
There is a harshness and despair in Schnittke’s music, and it’s almost unbearable in too large doses. But there’s also something extremely energising and cathartic about it, too. He grabs you by the lapels like no other composer.
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Thank you very much – I have only just latched on to these recordings, having somehow “gone off” the composer for a while i.e. a couple of years. I don’t mind the hiss on these recordings at all, as the sound of the instruments is so clearly rendered. These string quartets are a very good port of re-entry. I would be grateful for the name of the quartet(s) performing them, if you still have it/them.
Thanks for the comment Martin – i’m sorry, i hadn’t realised i’d omitted the names of the performers! Now corrected; will be checking the rest of the Schnittke posts too.
Thanks for this post. You manage to put the music well into words!
I discovered Schnittke’s music a few years back. I am more into his later stuff that the “polystylistic” compositions he became first known for. I especially like the string quartets 2 & 4, the piano quintet, the violin concerto No. 4 and the cello concerto No. 1. The viola concerto is superb too.
There is a harshness and despair in Schnittke’s music, and it’s almost unbearable in too large doses. But there’s also something extremely energising and cathartic about it, too. He grabs you by the lapels like no other composer.