Anyone coming to this delightful piece for the first time really should look at other pieces by this much neglected Russian genius. His music is polystylistic - he can write something as (seemingly) simple as this but also music of great complexity. Later in life, and after a debilitating stroke, he became a Christian and wrote some of the most powerful church music you'll ever hear. Please, let's start a crusade to make Schnittke's music better known. There's no doubt he deserves it...
I became curious about Schnittke by hearing the fugue on the radio this morning. I waited for the name and title, staying in the car just having arrived at work. I'm deeply impressed, he really touched my heart and soul. Delightful, spirited, elegant. I must confess that I never heard of him before - maybe it's an excuse to say I'm originally a jazz fan, but I love every kind of good music, an this here is extraordinary.
+Mark Kadillak I was going to write something when I saw your comment and you used the exact words I had in mind. Such glorious music, isn't it? And there's no such thing as 'typical' Schnittke - his music is radiant and very varied. And he deserves a much wider audience.
Great piece and brilliantly played by both players! I'm probably going to put grace notes on the beat and start ornaments on the upper note when I perform this, because, why not?
Can any music theory nerds out there explain to me the crazy dissonant chord at m. 57 in the Pantomime? Is there a story behind that? A hidden meaning? Because it is so different than the rest of the piece!
That dissonance is fascinating! From a purely harmonic point of view, it has no business being there: the violinist's A-flat and F# clash with the piano's implied G7 chord -- true, the A-flat could make this a G7(flat 9), but since the A-flat simply vanishes, can we hear that as a functional chord tone? (It's only an implied G7 because we're lacking a B or B-flat to tell us whether this is a true G7 or a Gm7. But I digress.) BUT, it isn't completely out of thin air either. Instead, looking back at the first movement, that lovely, lilting Pastorale, we find the violin landing on a long-held low G (in measures 60 - 65, 2:12), which the violin then carries up to a nice resolution on a high C. (We've done an extended V - I motion here, harmonically. Very satisfying.) Yet the movement doesn't end here... instead, the piano continues with the original melodic idea, before it and the violin come to a conclusion on a G - F - A-flat chord in the piano while the violin trills D/E-flat. We've ended the movement on a non-resolution -- an incomplete G7(flat 9)... which is exactly where the final Pantomime movement will end as well. So perhaps that striking dissonance in the last movement is harmonically pointing us back to the first movement (the high, long F#/G reminding us of that long, low G), and setting us up for the final non-resolution of the entire piece.
That suite is one of the most complicated musical creations ever. And one of the most deceptive. Sorcerer88, its not about idiom and practice. Schnittke knew the rules these old masters used. He wrote film music, which uses these rules, so he had practice. But if you say about courage and unfamiliar styles you didn't get the message at all, sadly. If you start analysing this piece, you'll soon fiind out that there is a lot hidden. And you need to know Schnittke's style to decypher this code. He hides devil in every note of his composition. And he hid it well. Let me try and open that curtain a bit. Pastorale, very beautiful sounding part actually hides a lot of death in the picture. Its like everything is good here where we are, nice weather, puffy clouds, birds, and somewhere else far away there's battle, and death, and destruction, and agony, but here it only echoes a bit, and you almost don't hear it, everything is almost perfect. Almost. Another interesting fact about this part is violin and piano often have two different main themes and they actually try to stumble each other. Sadly, you almost don't hear that in this performance, musicians try to smooth the conflict Schnittke puts there. It weakens this performance. I think, this performance did not grab Pastorale essense at all, sadly. They smoothen all those little hints composer put there up to the point, when listener can't hear it at all. Pastorale is supposed to end confusedly, without clear ending, because of two melodies tripping each other. It is put in the notes, but musitians miss it, so they never come to that ending themselves and don't lead listener. I think you should find other performances of Pastorale, that one is not very good, too loosy. The performance of the other parts is reasonable, though. Ballet is one of the most fun parts in usual classical suites. Old composers used to say, the longer the ballet the more fun for public. An Schnittke starts it fun. Theres dance, and ovement, and everyone is laughing and all is good. But then that movement becomes a bit mad and uncontrollable. And it doesn't look to scary right now. But then... oh... you almost don't notice it!.. violin's solo becomes horn call! That classical horn call, a sequene of intervals: sixth-fifth-third with upper note accending by one tone, so popular in classical music. Here it goes as follows: F-D, A-E, D-F. You'll find it in notation. So, they often use it as call to arms. And suddenly its not people dancing in Schnittke's ballet. Its guns, tanks, cannons. And now ballet becomes really scary. And if you notice this hidden lie that Schnittke puts in there, you will understand all horrifying meaning of that image that he draws for us. Minuet. A dance with a lot of small steps. Very comfortable, easy to talk during it... Schnittke puts so much spleen and depression into it. And he hides it well all the time, apart one, when it bursts out in a crazy scream of pain, because you can't leave like that anymore. And then tries to continue somehow. Fugue in classical music is a symbol of pure perfection, the most complicated and most advanced of all musical forms. Well, Schnittke very quikly makes his fugue a parody on itself, because it is just impossible to listen to so many repeats at the same time. I have very good audio card and awesome headphones. I can usually listen to any music, because all the good music has reason why people like it. I had high desire to stop listening to that Fogue all the time after the middle, because THERE CAN'T BE SO MANY REPEATS. I could barely listen... Pantomime is a finale, where Schnittke tries to respond to all problems he described and say something importaint and ask a question to the listener. I didn't decypher it yet for myself, I'm yet in the process of analysing, but what I'm finding out is barely describable by words. The only thing I can say, its about humans and the ways people see world. And that shows other parts of suite as lenses through which people interact with surroundings and their cons... And he tries to give some idea of his way of solving the problem.
I think it is an inexplicable masterpiece, but it is nice to find some facts or lines to share about it. I find something kindred in Goldberg variations. But there are novel elements that make it distinct from old style. For one thing the bounds of expression are wider. I think the old masters had to take into account more the possibilities of the performance. For example. many violin parts could be played by flute which cannot be said for this part. A true jewel.
JIube000 Thank you very much for your interesting analyses. I have known the piece for a long time and I think the original is for violin and harpiscord :o)
Anyone coming to this delightful piece for the first time really should look at other pieces by this much neglected Russian genius. His music is polystylistic - he can write something as (seemingly) simple as this but also music of great complexity. Later in life, and after a debilitating stroke, he became a Christian and wrote some of the most powerful church music you'll ever hear. Please, let's start a crusade to make Schnittke's music better known. There's no doubt he deserves it...
+ComposerInUK his time will come
Kuang-Li Cheng I hope so, Kuang-Li. All good wishes from England...
We know as much about Schnittke....in Russia. And love him...he is not neglected for us.
Andrey Sakh I'm very happy to hear that :)
I prefer Denisov (: .
His music is so happy and exciting!! I always have to smile. Life is good.
I became curious about Schnittke by hearing the fugue on the radio this morning. I waited for the name and title, staying in the car just having arrived at work. I'm deeply impressed, he really touched my heart and soul. Delightful, spirited, elegant. I must confess that I never heard of him before - maybe it's an excuse to say I'm originally a jazz fan, but I love every kind of good music, an this here is extraordinary.
That's terrific. So sad, and beautiful.
a very charming historic construction of Schnittke's. It must take courage to write in an idiom you do not practice every day as the old masters did.
I cry every time I listen to the pastorale...it is so beutiful...
Since I heard this after listening to the first symphony, I laughed out loud upon hearing the Ballet and Fugue. Great work.
Supper,Alfred Schnittke is my life...
Schnittke - the inventor of Bachcore.
The theme to the 2nd movement appears in his Symphony no 1, cool find (it's about 20 minutes in on the symphony)
I just love Schnittke
Such lovely music. Elegant and heartfelt...
+Mark Kadillak I was going to write something when I saw your comment and you used the exact words I had in mind. Such glorious music, isn't it? And there's no such thing as 'typical' Schnittke - his music is radiant and very varied. And he deserves a much wider audience.
The theme from the minuet at 5:36 was further elaborated in Schnittke's "Musica nostalgica", for cello and piano.
@@ethansandman6887 actually it's not so hard to transcript by yourself, or even read the violin line
the theme from the ballet was also reused in his first symphony
I adore Schnittke.
The "Pantomime" is extremely beautiful.
I see a similar development like in Stravinskys "Suite Italienne". Just the dissonance from the violin at the end, what a statement!
So beautiful piece .
Very nice music. I am so happy to tell this composition which about Neo-clasisim in my thesis.
It is surprising that the person who wrote this........also wrote Quasi Una Sonata!
So beautiful.
Great piece and brilliantly played by both players! I'm probably going to put grace notes on the beat and start ornaments on the upper note when I perform this, because, why not?
I'll always be envious about the way Schnittke clearly didn't give a f**k.
Incredible!
Great piece
Can any music theory nerds out there explain to me the crazy dissonant chord at m. 57 in the Pantomime? Is there a story behind that? A hidden meaning? Because it is so different than the rest of the piece!
That dissonance is fascinating! From a purely harmonic point of view, it has no business being there: the violinist's A-flat and F# clash with the piano's implied G7 chord -- true, the A-flat could make this a G7(flat 9), but since the A-flat simply vanishes, can we hear that as a functional chord tone? (It's only an implied G7 because we're lacking a B or B-flat to tell us whether this is a true G7 or a Gm7. But I digress.)
BUT, it isn't completely out of thin air either. Instead, looking back at the first movement, that lovely, lilting Pastorale, we find the violin landing on a long-held low G (in measures 60 - 65, 2:12), which the violin then carries up to a nice resolution on a high C. (We've done an extended V - I motion here, harmonically. Very satisfying.) Yet the movement doesn't end here... instead, the piano continues with the original melodic idea, before it and the violin come to a conclusion on a G - F - A-flat chord in the piano while the violin trills D/E-flat. We've ended the movement on a non-resolution -- an incomplete G7(flat 9)... which is exactly where the final Pantomime movement will end as well.
So perhaps that striking dissonance in the last movement is harmonically pointing us back to the first movement (the high, long F#/G reminding us of that long, low G), and setting us up for the final non-resolution of the entire piece.
The music is from a film score so it is probably about something in the film.
@@nicketaevani-fzukunf007I thought it was the piece reminding the listener that it's a Schnittke piece.
The ballet and the fugue strongly reminds me of J. S. Bach or Handel.
SUPER!
That suite is one of the most complicated musical creations ever. And one of the most deceptive. Sorcerer88, its not about idiom and practice. Schnittke knew the rules these old masters used. He wrote film music, which uses these rules, so he had practice. But if you say about courage and unfamiliar styles you didn't get the message at all, sadly. If you start analysing this piece, you'll soon fiind out that there is a lot hidden. And you need to know Schnittke's style to decypher this code. He hides devil in every note of his composition. And he hid it well.
Let me try and open that curtain a bit.
Pastorale, very beautiful sounding part actually hides a lot of death in the picture. Its like everything is good here where we are, nice weather, puffy clouds, birds, and somewhere else far away there's battle, and death, and destruction, and agony, but here it only echoes a bit, and you almost don't hear it, everything is almost perfect. Almost. Another interesting fact about this part is violin and piano often have two different main themes and they actually try to stumble each other. Sadly, you almost don't hear that in this performance, musicians try to smooth the conflict Schnittke puts there. It weakens this performance. I think, this performance did not grab Pastorale essense at all, sadly. They smoothen all those little hints composer put there up to the point, when listener can't hear it at all. Pastorale is supposed to end confusedly, without clear ending, because of two melodies tripping each other. It is put in the notes, but musitians miss it, so they never come to that ending themselves and don't lead listener. I think you should find other performances of Pastorale, that one is not very good, too loosy.
The performance of the other parts is reasonable, though.
Ballet is one of the most fun parts in usual classical suites. Old composers used to say, the longer the ballet the more fun for public. An Schnittke starts it fun. Theres dance, and ovement, and everyone is laughing and all is good. But then that movement becomes a bit mad and uncontrollable. And it doesn't look to scary right now. But then... oh... you almost don't notice it!.. violin's solo becomes horn call! That classical horn call, a sequene of intervals: sixth-fifth-third with upper note accending by one tone, so popular in classical music. Here it goes as follows: F-D, A-E, D-F. You'll find it in notation. So, they often use it as call to arms. And suddenly its not people dancing in Schnittke's ballet. Its guns, tanks, cannons. And now ballet becomes really scary. And if you notice this hidden lie that Schnittke puts in there, you will understand all horrifying meaning of that image that he draws for us.
Minuet. A dance with a lot of small steps. Very comfortable, easy to talk during it... Schnittke puts so much spleen and depression into it. And he hides it well all the time, apart one, when it bursts out in a crazy scream of pain, because you can't leave like that anymore. And then tries to continue somehow.
Fugue in classical music is a symbol of pure perfection, the most complicated and most advanced of all musical forms. Well, Schnittke very quikly makes his fugue a parody on itself, because it is just impossible to listen to so many repeats at the same time. I have very good audio card and awesome headphones. I can usually listen to any music, because all the good music has reason why people like it. I had high desire to stop listening to that Fogue all the time after the middle, because THERE CAN'T BE SO MANY REPEATS. I could barely listen...
Pantomime is a finale, where Schnittke tries to respond to all problems he described and say something importaint and ask a question to the listener. I didn't decypher it yet for myself, I'm yet in the process of analysing, but what I'm finding out is barely describable by words. The only thing I can say, its about humans and the ways people see world. And that shows other parts of suite as lenses through which people interact with surroundings and their cons... And he tries to give some idea of his way of solving the problem.
I think it is an inexplicable masterpiece, but it is nice to find some facts or lines to share about it. I find something kindred in Goldberg variations. But there are novel elements that make it distinct from old style. For one thing the bounds of expression are wider. I think the old masters had to take into account more the possibilities of the performance. For example. many violin parts could be played by flute which cannot be said for this part.
A true jewel.
You didn't say anything about the 13.38 chord...
JIube000 Thank you very much for your interesting analyses. I have known the piece for a long time and I think the original is for violin and harpiscord :o)
Jiube000 nice but completely subjective analysis
Daniel Korts Your mother may be also completely subjective
haha he uses the ballet in his first symphony.
How can I get a PDF of the music?
08:07 so sad