In Memoriam is the orchestral version of the Quintet with piano. It was G. Rozhdestvenski who asked Schnittke for an orchestration, the density of the expression being rich enough to support such a transfer (in this, I cannot help but think of the orchestrations of certain Shostakovich quartets by Barshai, the two composers sometimes having common traits). The piano part will be shared between winds and percussion. The strings would suffer little arrangement. The overall transcription remains literal, the instrumentation rich and colorful. This work, whose origin is the death of the composer's mother, is marked by great sadness and continuous darkness. The 5 movements are linked fairly quickly, the first and last are both moderato.
Deutsche Grammophon and Decca have announced the release of the largest and most complete box set ever devoted to the work of a single composer with Bach 333 – a 222 CD box set – which is released worldwide on 26 October in two language versions, English and German. The flagship Edition is accompanied by a 2CD entry level product, Peaceful Bach, and a suite of 13 digital products including all aimed at achieving the widest possible awareness and engagement. Remixes and reworks by: Peter Gregson · Víkingur Ólafsson ·C atrin Finch · Daniel Hope.