Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke was born in Engels on the 24th of November 1934. His family moved to Vienna in 1946 when his father received a posting there. This city became the foundation for his musical identity. He studied music under teachers who emphasized Mozart and Schubert over Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff. Schnittke later described this period as feeling like a link in a historical chain. He wrote that every moment felt multi-dimensional with ghosts from the past present everywhere. The experience gave him spiritual discipline for his future professional activities. The family returned to Moscow in 1948 after two years abroad.
Schnittke completed graduate work at the Moscow Conservatory in 1961. He taught composition there until 1972 while earning most income from film scores. He produced nearly 70 film scores over three decades. His First Symphony faced effective bans from the Composers' Union. After he abstained from a Composers' Union vote in 1980, officials banned him from traveling outside the Soviet Union. Evgeny Golubev served as one of his composition teachers during these formative years. The bureaucracy viewed both him and his music with deep suspicion throughout his career.
A new style emerged called polystylism where Schnittke combined various musical styles. He once stated his goal was to unify serious music and light music even if it broke his neck. His first concert work using this technique appeared as the second violin sonata Quasi una sonata between 1967 and 1968. Much of that sonata material appeared first in his score for the 1968 animation short The Glass Harmonica. He wrote music for Aleksandr Askoldov's Commissar combining European ethnic Russian and Jewish patterns. The epic First Symphony ran from 1969 to 1972 while the First Concerto Grosso arrived in 1977. Luigi Nono visited the USSR introducing serial techniques before Schnittke rejected them as puberty rites of self-denial.
Schnittke began seeking solace in Catholicism after his mother died in 1972. He officially converted on the 18th of June 1983. His deeply held beliefs in predestination and mysticism influenced his music significantly. This spiritual turn became evident through Christian themes in works like the Concerto for Mixed Chorus created between 1984 and 1985. The Penitential Psalms followed in 1988 with alluded references appearing in the Fourth Symphony and Faust Cantata. Gennady Rozhdestvensky helped conduct performances abroad despite constant illness. Emigré artists including violinists Gidon Kremer and Mark Lubotsky promoted his work internationally during this period.
A stroke struck Schnittke on the 21st of July 1985 leaving him in a coma. He was declared clinically dead several times but recovered to continue composing. Health deteriorated from the late 1980s causing him to abandon extroversion of earlier polystylism. He retreated into a more withdrawn bleak style accessible to lay listeners. The Fourth Quartet appeared in 1989 while symphonies numbered six seven and eight arrived in 1992 1993 and 1994 respectively. A stroke in 1994 left him almost completely paralyzed so he largely ceased composing. Some scholars argue these late works will ultimately be the most influential parts of his output.
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Common questions
When and where was Alfred Schnittke born?
Alfred Schnittke was born in Engels on the 24th of November 1934. His family moved to Vienna in 1946 when his father received a posting there.
What musical style did Alfred Schnittke develop later in his career?
A new style emerged called polystylism where Schnittke combined various musical styles. He once stated his goal was to unify serious music and light music even if it broke his neck.
Why did officials ban Alfred Schnittke from traveling outside the Soviet Union?
After he abstained from a Composers' Union vote in 1980, officials banned him from traveling outside the Soviet Union. The bureaucracy viewed both him and his music with deep suspicion throughout his career.
When did Alfred Schnittke officially convert to Catholicism?
Schnittke began seeking solace in Catholicism after his mother died in 1972. He officially converted on the 18th of June 1983.
How many film scores did Alfred Schnittke produce over three decades?
He produced nearly 70 film scores over three decades. Schnittke taught composition at the Moscow Conservatory until 1972 while earning most income from these film scores.