Alfred Piano

This gargantuan 35-disc set of Alfred Brendel's complete Vox, Turnabout, and Vanguard recordings released in late 2008, concurrent with his retirement from concert life, will be mandatory listening for anyone who reveres the Austrian virtuoso. When these recordings were made between 1955 and 1975, Brendel was at the start of his international career, and his performances here have a fire, energy, and a drama that his later recordings sometimes lack. Brendel devotees, however, may also find his performances lack the intellectual rigor of his middle period recordings and the poetic depths of his later recordings. Compare his demonic account of Mozart's Twentieth Concerto here, for instance, with his more elegant later account. The difference is clear.

Alfred Schnittke - Epilogue, Music for Cello & Piano (2007) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-1427} (Item #23)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 314 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 183 Mb
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© 2007 BIS Records AB | BIS-CD-1427
Classical / Contemporary Classical / 20th Century

Alfred Schnittke’s use of the elegiac voice of the cello evokes Russian musical tradition and history. His works for the cello were to a large extent inspired by his friendship and close collaboration with the exceptional musicians Mstislav Rostropovich, Alexander Ivashkin and Natalia Gutman, to all of whom he dedicated works. Rostropovich has said about the composer: ‘As far as I am concerned, the most remarkable thing about Schnittke is his all-embracing, all-encompassing genius… he uses everything invented before him. Uses it as his palette, his colours. And it is all so organic: for example, diatonic music goes side by side with complex atonal polyphony.’

This gargantuan 35-disc set of Alfred Brendel's complete Vox, Turnabout, and Vanguard recordings released in late 2008, concurrent with his retirement from concert life, will be mandatory listening for anyone who reveres the Austrian virtuoso. When these recordings were made between 1955 and 1975, Brendel was at the start of his international career, and his performances here have a fire, energy, and a drama that his later recordings sometimes lack. Brendel devotees, however, may also find his performances lack the intellectual rigor of his middle period recordings and the poetic depths of his later recordings. Compare his demonic account of Mozart's Twentieth Concerto here, for instance, with his more elegant later account. The difference is clear.

Alfred Schnittke - Chamber Music: Prelude in memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich (1995) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-697} (Item #20)
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 322 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 188 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 28 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1995 Grammofon AB BIS | BIS-CD-697
Classical / Contemporary Classical / 20th Century

Alfred Schnittke’s work has won wide acceptance in recent years, particularly since political changes in the former Soviet Union. His early studies in Vienna were followed by formal training at the Moscow Conservatory, where he later taught. His musical language is eclectic, combining a number of styles, contemporary and traditional.

Alfred Schnittke - Violin Sonatas (1991) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-527} (Item #11)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 200 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 169 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 32 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1991 Grammofon AB BIS | BIS-CD-527
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Violin / Piano

The violin sonatas by Alfred Schnittke extend over his whole career. The First Sonata is among his earliest major pieces while the Second Sonata typifies the confrontational manner of the works that followed.