Oh Schnittke, why are you so fickle?
November 20th, 2007 Posted in classical music, schnittke
A reason I think Schnittke is awesome (from the concerto grosso no. 2):
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Or (from the viola concerto)…
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And why he kind of pisses me off (also from concerto grosso no. 2):
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Arrrgh! I can’t stand that strident, single-stringed rapidly falling motif which he uses in almost every movement of everything I have by him. It drives me crazy. I love the funky polystylism and weird stops and starts, and even a dash of microtonal whining, but he always ends up pushing it too bloody far. Pretty much every time I hear a Schnittke piece I wonder why I am not listening to it more, why it isn’t one of my favorites – and then it gets really painfully strident and I turn it off because my brain starts crying.
He still kicks arse though.
July 18th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Sorry to post this so long after the original post, but have you heard Schnittke’s Requiem? The bit where the drums (ie drum kit, as in rock) kick in is truly amazing.
July 18th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Interesting. No, I don’t know the requiem… I’ll keep an eye/ear out for it. Thanks for the tip.
August 26th, 2009 at 2:25 am
Listen to his Suite in the Old Style — very interesting to find places which couldn’t have been written by a Baroque composer.