Customer Reviews

Schnittke: Concerto Grosso No. 1 / Cello Concerto No. 1

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This disc, part of the Moscow Studio Archives series of significant Soviet performances, collects two works by the late Alfred Schnittke, his First Concerto Grosso, and his Cello Concerto No. 1. They are performed by the dedicatees themselves, Tatiana Gridenko and Gidon Kremer in the concerto grosso (with Yuri Bashmet conducting the Moscow Philharmonic Society Soloists Ensemble) , and Natalia Gutman in the cello concerto (with Gennady Rozhdestvensky conducting the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra).

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Schnittke was exploring a style he called "polystylism", a Russian answer to postmodernism in which modern elements mingle effortlessly with quotations from the works of centuries past. The "Concerto Grosso No. 1" is a fit example of such writing. Written for two violins, harpsichord, prepared piano, and strings, it combines angular, modern writing from the soloists with the pure tonalism of Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky and even Webern and the favourite tango of the composer's grandmother. Describing this can only make the work sound enormously inconsistent, but in fact all these disparate parts overcome their contradictions and join together in a whole which is quite moving and thought-provoking. Kremer and Grindenko has performed this work several times, and I'm especially familiar with a recording with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Heinrich Schiff on Deutsche Grammophon. Still, the one here remains my favourite, since Bashmet's conducting and the quality of the recording gives the work a jarring realization that shows well why Schnittke drew the ire of the conservative forces in the Soviet musical bureacracy.

In 1985 Schnittke suffered the first of a series of disabling strokes, and his writing broke the connection with the past of the polystylism phase and became intensely personal. The "Cello Concerto No. 1" is one of the first works he wrote after the stroke. The first three movements are closely connected with the pre-stroke Viola Concerto written earlier that year in that both involve "suicide by orchestra" for the soloist. The cellist weaves poignant melodies and seems involved in a search for truth, while the orchestra goes on with everyday brash notes. The confrontation between the two leaves the soloist drained of all strength, and at the end only the orchestra survives. But unlike the viola concerto there is a remarkable ressurection, for the fourth movement, "largo" and quite long at 13 minutes, has the cello rise through a passacaglia from death to victory. This is an incredible ending. I'm not a fan of all of the late Schnittke--works like the sixth symphony seem to go nowhere--but this concerto shows that even after 1985 he remained at the height of his powers.

The two pieces here are among Schnittke's best, although I think that the works on the other MSA release (the "Concerto Grosso No. 2" and the "Viola Concerto") are even better. Both discs are highly recommended listening for any fan of contemporary music.

This release in the valuable new Moscow Studio Archives series includes the 1986 premiere recording of Schnittke's "Cello Concerto No. 1" and a live 1988 recording of the well-known "Concerto Grosso No. 1" that is the earliest recording currently available, though certainly there must be an earlier recording of the 1977 composition somewhere.

Gidon Kremer and Tatiana Grindenko are the violinists on CG1, with Yuri Bashmet conducting a Moscow ensemble live in St. Petersburg. (This is the same recording as the one on the Col Legno Collage series Schnittke disc that was released in 2000 -- it has an orange cover.) This is an impassioned version of Schnittke's polystylistic work, which includes harpsichord and prepared piano, Baroque passages as well as a brief section of a tango. While essential for the Schnittke devotee, I would recommend the studio recording from later in 1988 in Berlin, also featuring Kremer and Grindenko, for someone looking for the single best version. (It can be found on the DG 20/21 Echo disc called CONCERTI GROSSI NOS. 1 & 5 -- see my review.) While not as intense, it is much better recorded, with no noisy audience, and the orchestral playing is better.

The story for the Cello Concerto is similar. This is the first recording, by Natalie Gutman, the dedicatee, with Gennadi Rozhdestvensky conducting the USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra. Gutman had premiered the work live in Munich earlier in the year. While historic, and excellent in its own right, a much better 1999 recording was recently issued on the Chandos label, with Alexander Ivashkin on cello, and Valeri Polyansky conducting the Russian State Symphony Orchestra (paired with Schnittke's Symphony No. 7 -- see my review). Ivashkin's tone is rich and singing, while Gutman is rawer, and Polyansky, who is gradually recording all of Schnittke's symphonies for Chandos, leads the orchestra to a deeper and richer performance than Rozhdestvensky.

In summary then, these are important historic recordings, but not the first choice for either work.