My interest in Alfred Schnittke probably predates my commitment to serious writing about music. The earliest additions to my collection of recordings were the CDs released by BIS in the late eighties. These were, for the most part, provocative; but they never failed to pique my curiosity. The first time he appeared on this site was at the end of April of 2007, when my obituary for Mstislav Rostropovich cited his interest in the "Suite in the Old Style,” which I was fortunate enough to hear him perform when I was living in Singapore.
I was reminded of that occasion when I learned that the latest album of cellist Matt Haimovitz is devoted entirely to a performance of Schnittke’s first cello concerto. This was completed in 1986, followed by a second concerto in 1990 (which was dedicated the Rostropovich). While the “Suite” was readily accessible (if one could appreciate the many tongue-in-cheek gestures), most of the Schnittke repertoire is known for sharper edges punctuating a rhetoric of despair. As an exile from the Soviet Union (for touring with “foreign” orchestras), Rostropovich could appreciate that rhetoric.
The Haimovitz album was released at the end of last month. As of this writing, its Pentatone Web page supports only download or streaming with no word as yet of a “physical” release. From a personal point of view, I would not recommend streaming. Those that know a thing or two about information theory will quickly appreciate that Schnittke’s compositions require far more “information bits” than can be easily managed in “real time.” Put in more pedestrian terms, any Schnittke recording requires several listening experiences before one can get one’s head around what the music is doing.
Matt Haimovitz playing Schnittke’s first cello concerto with Dennis Russell Davies leading the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra (photograph by Jeffrianne Young, from the booklet for the album being discussed)
That said, there is more than a generous share of expressiveness in Haimovitz’ cello work to encourage listener attention. He performs with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra led by its Principal Conductor, Dennis Russell Davies. Even when composing a concerto, Schnittke could be very generous in letting all the different sonorities of the ensemble have a say in the matter. There is definitely no shortage of that diversity in his cello concerto!
It is almost two decades since I began to add Schnittke recordings to my collection, and I still look forward to encounters with new releases with enthusiasm!
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