Monday, November 29, 2010

Alfred Schnittke - The Ten Symphonies


2009; 47 tracks
6 discs


There is so much to say about these mindblowing and hardly well known pieces by the Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke and frankly I am not the one to say any of it. If you want to learn more about each one, I've found a few nice reviews while looking at individual recordings.

Disc 1:
Symphony No. 1; 4 tracks
Leif Segerstam / Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Disc 2:
Symphony No. 2, St. Florian; 8 tracks
Anders Aby / Mikaeli Chamber Choir
Leif Segerstam / Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra


Disc 3:
Symphony No. 3; 4 tracks
Eri Klas / Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No. 7; 3 tracks
Tadaaki Otaka / BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Disc 4:
Symphony No. 4; 7 tracks
Stefan Parkman / Academy Chamber Choir of Uppsala
Okka Kamu / Stockholm Sinfonietta

Symphony No. 5 (Concerto Grosso No. 4); 4 tracks
Neeme Järvi / Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

Disc 5:
Symphony No. 6; 4 tracks
Tadaaki Otaka / BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Symphony No. 8; 5 tracks
Lü Jia / Norrköping Symphony Orchestra

Disc 6:
Symphony No. 0; 4 tracks
Symphony No. 9; 3 tracks
Owain Arwel Hughes / Cape Philharmonic Orchestra

Btw: The 9th Symphony, the composer's last work, is one of the most powerful and moving pieces of music I've heard in a long time. Schnittke’s ultimate symphony – actually his very last work – is a “Ninth” in a most unusual sense: Put down with a shaky left hand by an artist who had survived four strokes and was laterally debilitated, it is an impressive triumph of spiritual energy over physical constraints.


Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Disc 4
Disc 5
Disc 6

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