Alfred Schnittke in Retrospect
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2 word format
document in English
arts and art history
school essay
published 08/08/2007
review : Completed
level : General public
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Summary“For almost thirty years I repeatedly saw one and the same dream: I would arrive in Vienna at long last. I would feel really happy, for I was returning to the most serene time of my life.” In this quote, Alfred Schnittke, in the final years before his death, recaps his pleasant times in Vienna, Austria. Schnittke, however, was not born in Vienna, but in Engels, on the Volga River, in the Soviet Union, on November 24, 1934. Schnittke’s father was born in Frankfurt, Germany into a Jewish family of Russian descent, who later moved to Russia. His mother was a Volga-German, born in Russia. In 1946, Schnittke began his musical training in Vienna, before moving to Moscow, Russia in 1948. In Moscow, Schnittke was able to complete his music education at the Moscow Conservatory, where he also taught from 1962-1972. Following his teaching career, Schnittke began to compose film scores as a means for supporting himself. During this time, he studied with Evgeny Golubev, a Russian Soviet composer. Thereafter, he began composing music other than film scores, but became a target of Soviet bureaucracy. Later in his life, Schnittke suffered a series of strokes, and way actually pronounced dead on several occasions. After his stroke in 1985, Schnittke remained in a coma for quite some time, but partially recovered, and continued to compose music. A final stroke left him almost completely paralyzed, and he died shortly after that in 1998.
Table of Contents
- 'For almost thirty years I repeatedly saw one and the same dream: I would arrive in Vienna at long last
- Schnittke's music was known for having an extreme Russian sound
- Prior to 1968, many of Schnittke's compositions contained elements of serialism (like that of Arnold Schoenberg)
- In one of Schnittke's compositions specifically, A La Albeniz, many of these musical characteristics are demonstrated
- A similar problem arises when discussing public reaction to Schnittke's music
- Schnittke's music is melodic and emotional, and not in the least bit grotesque
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