Alfred Schnittke: Concerto Grosso No. 1

Inside the "neoclassical" frame of the
Concerto Grosso No. 1 (1977), one finds the transformation of a cheerful song chorale of Soviet schoolchildren, a nostalgic atonal serenade, quasi-Corellian allusions, and, finally, "my grandmother's favorite tango which her great-grandmother used to play on a harpsichord". In the Concerto Grosso, as in many of his other compositions, Schnittke uses fragments from his film scores. Speaking about this work, Schnittke said, "One of my life's goals is to overcome the gap between 'E' (Ernstmusik, serious music) and 'U' (Unterhaltung, music for entertainment), even if I break my neck in doing so!".

More info: http://alfredschnittke.wordpress.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Schnittke

Alfred Schnittke (Russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке (Al'fred Garrievič Šnitke): Concerto Grosso No. 1, for two violins, harpsichord, prepared piano and strings.
Chamber orchestra "Kremerata Baltica" (http://www.kremerata-baltica.com).
Violins: Gidon Kremer and Tatiana Grindenko.
November 23, 2004.

PS: You could find the full-length of this video here: http://vkontakte.ru/video_ext.php?oid=1902511&id=157973215&hash=f3a9a...

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Alfred Schnittke
• Concerto Grosso No. 1
• Gidon Kremer
• Tatiana Grindenko
• Kremerata Baltica
• Orchestra
• two violins
• harpsichord

[FotoKadr]

@sphagnumlutescens Yes, Alfred Garrievich is one of my favorite composers of the 20th century along with Shostakovich:) And no, unfortunately I am not a musician, but just a humble music lover and a frequent visitor of a local philharmonic. Thank you for your comments Peter, I will try to post some more works by Schnittke in future, I hope you will enjoy them as well. Happy holidays and all the best to you too:)

[sphagnumlutescens]

Thank you for your response and your modesty! May I ask you if Schnittke is a favourite composer of yours and further are you a musician or just a music lover,

Best wishes,

Peter

[FotoKadr]

@sphagnumlutescens You are very kind:) I am not that pleased with the quality myself, I wish it could be better. It has taken place in the National Philharmonic of Russia and was broadcasted by the Russian TV channel "Kultura" (tvkultura.ru) in the memory of Alfred Schnittke's 70th birthday. I added the link to the whole concert in the description. Thank you for watching!

[sphagnumlutescens]

Smashing video this! Lovely quality. Where did it take place. Like your taste!