Read the ArticleAlfred Schnittke: Music for Violin and Piano • Roman Mints, violin
The first time I heard Alfred Schnittke’s music was at children’s music school: it was his Suite in the Old Style, a fairly easy piece to play and understand, notably the Minuet. I remember that one of the teachers, hearing me play the Minuet, said: “See, he can write normal music!” At that time I didn’t know what he meant, but a few years later, when I began to take an interest in any dissonant music, the Soviet record label Melodiya started to release LPs of Schnittke’s symphonies conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky. I bought these records, my mother bought them, and I was also given them as birthday presents by my schoolmates. It never occurred to them that, as someone interested in this music, I might already have them. So I wound up with several copies of each record, and in turn gave them to my friends. People began to believe that Schnittke was my favourite composer. And even though that isn’t exactly true, I do still have a particular connexion to his music. Although I stopped buying records of his music long ago, I have always found it easy to play: for me it is simple and clear, and it speaks my language. …
“…what really matters is his ability to work with each of the selections on the composer’s own terms. There is no questioning the technical skill he brings to each of the pieces he performs. More important, however, is his acute awareness of where the music actually resides beneath the surface level of all the marks on the score pages.”—Examiner.com