A Schnittke Reader: [Hardcover]

Alfred Schnittke (Author), Alexander Ivashkin (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0253338182 | ISBN-13: 978-0253338181 | Publication Date: July 2002

This compilation assembles previously published and unpublished essays by Schnittke and supplements them with an interview with cellist and scholar Alexander Ivashkin. The book is illustrated with musical examples, many of them in Schnittke's own hand. In A Schnittke Reader, the composer speaks of his life, his works, other composers, performers, and a broad range of topics in 20th-century music. The volume is rounded out with reflections by some of Schnittke's contemporaries.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I have read all of Alfred's articles with enormous interest and enjoyment... [He] had such a profound insight into the music of other composers, and ... he found in it so many regular features that were hidden from others." --from the foreword by Mstislav Rostropovich "This collection of writings by or about Alfred Schnittke, including many previously unpublished, is a major contribution to our understanding of the most important Russian composer of recent times."--Classical Music, 4 January 2003 "This collection of writings by or about Alfred Schnittke, including many previously unpublished, is a major contribution to our understanding of the most important Russian composer of recent times."--Classical Music, 4 January 2003

About the Author

Alfred Schnittke was one of the great composers of the twentieth century.

Alexander Ivashkin is Professor of Music and Director of the Centre for Russian Music at the University of London. A cellist, he often performs works by Schnittke.
Translator John Goodliffe is based in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253338182
• ISBN-13: 978-0253338181
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,129,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A deeper insight into Schnittke's world, September 15, 2003

By 

villegem "villegem" (canada) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Schnittke Reader: (Hardcover)

The original book written in Russian was then translated into German. The German edition had many photographs, the only aspect I missed in this English abridged version. Otherwise Ivashkin conversations with Schnittke are very revealing of his world, and of his vision on the state of classical music.

The simple views that empty virtuosity is not enough, the view that the orchestra is like the universe, thus boundless and not an elitist frozen past are refreshing at a time where so many formations are in dire financial situation, principally because of the lack of imagination of their music directors. Check how many orchestras have programmed Schnittke's orchestra music this season and you'll understand...
The intricacy of good and evil, so present in his works are revealed to the reader.

Follows a series of more technical dissertations on XX Century works by other composers. I felt I was lacking the technical basis for fully benefiting from the discussion.
Portraits by friends were revealing about Schnittke but also about the friends own personalities: Rostropovitch preface in that regard is more about himself than anything else...

So in conclusion, a worthy effort in English by A. Ivashkin who should be commended for his relentless efforts in a time where the soup of the politically correct is our musical diet!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Almost no insight on Schnittke's own music, and his remarks on the music of others are no longer so fresh, August 27, 2011

By 

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Schnittke Reader: (Hardcover)

Published in 2002, A SCHNITTKE READER is a collection of writings by or about the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke, edited by Alexander Ivashkin and translated into English by John Goodliffe.

The bulk of the material consists of Schnittke's writings on other composers' music. He did early analysis on Stravinsky's serial period, Ligeti's micropolyphony and Berio's polystylism at a time when this repertoire was still very new and little known in the Soviet Union. However, forty years later most of his insights will, I suspect, be common knowledge to fans of modernism. Schnittke also wrote some brief articles in praise of his contemporaries (e.g. Gubaidulina, Lubimov), but these are just little puff pieces and don't reveal much about their art.

I came to this collection hoping to understand Schnittke's music more deeply, but it's disappointing in that regard. There are few comments on Schnittke's own music, and the descriptions of the Concerto No. 1 or the Symphony No. 4 are as brief as CD liner notes. There are a few contributions by Schnittke's fellow musicians, but these are mostly mere recountings of the times they performed his music. An exception, however, is Gidon Kremer's piece which documents his changing relationship to the Schnittke's music.

All in all, I think A SCHNITTKE READER will be of limited appeal to Schnittke fans.