in Memoriam Albert Dderlein

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
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© 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 - In Memoriam and Viola Concerto (1989) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-447} (Item #4)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 177 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 150 Mb
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© 1989 Grammofon AB BIS | BIS-CD-447
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Orchestral

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.

This is a 3 CD box of three different shows (2 in '83 and 1 in '84). Complete King Biscuit Flower Hour material, superb sound. Disc 1: Ripley's Music Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. - October 20, 1983. Disc 2: The Spectrum, Montreal, Canada - August 17, 1984. Disc 3: Montreal, Canada - August 17, 1984. This beautifully packaged 3 cd set has the King Bisquit flower hour shows from 83 and 84, but they are more complete than the radio broadcasts. The Montreal 84 show is complete. The other show may be (as Stevie often played 2 shows per night at that venue, as short show is a definite possibility).The best thing (besides Stevie and the band's playing) is that the discs were recorded using the master tapes, NOT a tape of an FM broadcast. So, there is not FM compression and the frequency range of these discs is unparalleled. You can hear the bass and drums like you have never heard them before on a Sony release. Great stuff.

This set of two CDs holds the only recording Yehudi Menuhin made of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Sir Yehudi had nothing against the concerto and counted it among the first that he learned and played. Another recording of the concerto had been made with Sir Adrian Boult in 1959 by was never issued as Sir Yehudi was not pleased with the performance. It is a matter of conjecture as to why Sir Yehudi did not play the concerto in concert but this recording of the work is superb.