The Concerto for piano and strings, Op. 136, of Alfred Schnittke isn't often played, and it was picked for an online streamed concert by the Cleveland Orchestra during the coronavirus restrictions of 2020 precisely because everyone involved could be masked. As it happens, it's a marvelous work, presenting an unusually compact version of Schnittke's polystylistic language in which big neo-Romantic gestures, a Classical-style Alberti bass, jazz, and bell-like intimations of religious mystery careen by in quick succession but ...
Read More
The Concerto for piano and strings, Op. 136, of Alfred Schnittke isn't often played, and it was picked for an online streamed concert by the Cleveland Orchestra during the coronavirus restrictions of 2020 precisely because everyone involved could be masked. As it happens, it's a marvelous work, presenting an unusually compact version of Schnittke's polystylistic language in which big neo-Romantic gestures, a Classical-style Alberti bass, jazz, and bell-like intimations of religious mystery careen by in quick succession but somehow seem to hang together. The Alberti bass may refer to a similar figure in the second movement of Prokofiev's Symphony No. 2 in D minor, Op. 40, and in general, Schnittke's work has a Prokofiev-like energy that brings out the big but precise style of piano soloist Yefim Bronfman. One may also note that the sometimes maligned Cleveland Orchestra conductor Franz Welser-Möst is in his element here. He does not overemphasize the machine-like quality of the Prokofiev, opting instead...
Read Less
Add this copy of Schnittke: Concerto for Piano and Strings/... to cart. $37.54, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2021 by Cleveland Orchestra.
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.