Spivakov Schittke

Alfred Schnittke - Concerto Grosso No. 3 & Other Works (1991) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-537} (Item #12)
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© 1991 Grammofon AB BIS | BIS-CD-537
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Concerto

Schittke's Concerto Grosso No. 3 was commissioned by the East German Radio in 1985 and on the occasion of five composers having notable anniversaries in a year ending with the number 85: Heinrich Schütz, who was born in 1585; Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, and Domenico Scarlatti, who were all born in 1685; and Alban Berg, who was born in 1885. This concerto was completed just before the onset of a series of strokes that affected him greatly for the rest of his creative life, marked by his Concerto for Three (1994).

Alfred Schnittke - Faust Cantata and other works - Malmö Symphony Orchestra (1989) {BIS Schnittke Edition, BIS-437} (Item #3)
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 265 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 180 Mb
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© 1989 Grammofon AB BIS | BIS-CD-437
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Choral / Orchestral

If you were ever faced with having to own one–and only one–Alfred Schnittke CD, this would be an excellent choice. A collection with Seid Nüchtern und Wachet (better known as the Faust Cantata) as its anchor, this set also features inspired performances of the large, pulsing Ritual as well as a pair of additional large orchestral works: (K)ein Sommernachtstaum and Passacaglia. These are sprawling things, each invoking styles by the seeming dozens in blasts of energy. Schnittke's is a music of embarrassing riches, a palette he intentionally overfills in a self-consciously postmodern pastiche that speaks to the twin 20th-century Russian traditions of (in music) rich orchestration and (in politics) political repression. So it is that the Faust Cantata can weave between c. 16th-century texts and a very familiar liturgical choral style and a gut-busting set of solos that drive the piece to a frenzy.

Debut album by the next young and talented violinist on Deutsche Grammophon, following the successful footsteps of Anne-Sophie Mutter and David Garrett who both joined the label as youngsters.

Since the composition of The Protecting Veil in 1987, the cello has played an important role in John Tavener's music. Even when he was writing for instruments during the 1989-1995 period when the music on Svyati originated, Tavener's works carried strong overtones of Russian Orthodox church services, and the cello here, as Tavener himself points out, sometimes seems to stand in for the voice of a priest. These pieces have been recorded before, but cellist Steven Isserlis, who premiered The Protecting Veil and some of the works included here, sheds valuable light on this phase of Tavener's career by bringing them together on one disc.