Schnittke, Alfred, 1924–98, Russian composer. He studied music in Vienna (1946–48) and at the Moscow Conservatory (1953–58), where he later (1962–72) taught instrumentation. Thereafter, he earned a living mainly by composing more than 60 film scores, which he wrote in a traditional style acceptible to Soviet authorities. However, his signature avant-garde pieces are far from traditional, incorporating a wide variety of styles, from classical harmonics to serial dissonances, and including quotations and references to other works—all frequently within the same composition. Schnittke was little known in the West until the 1980s, when his music was championed by a number of expatriate Russian performers. Extremely prolific, he wrote nine symphonies, six concerti grossi, four violin and two cello concerti, four string quartets, six ballet scores, and numerous orchestral, vocal, choral, chamber, and solo pieces. Among his better-known works are the Concerto Grosso No. 1 (1977) and the operas composed late in his career: Life with an Idiot (1992), Historia von D. Johann Fausten (1993), and Gesualdo (1994).

Bibliography

See A. Ivashkin, ed., A Schnittke Reader (2002); biography by A. Ivashkin (1996).

Schnittke, Alfred (Garriyevich)

(born Nov. 24, 1934, Engels, Volga German Autonomous S.S.R.—died Aug. 3, 1998, Hamburg, Ger.) Russian composer. He began musical training in Vienna and continued in Moscow, then taught at the Moscow Conservatory (1962–72). He scored more than 60 films and was one of the first Soviet composers to experiment with serialism. After the death of Dmitry Shostakovich, Schnittke became the Soviet Union's leading composer and gained a major international reputation as he evolved a highly eclectic style (“polystylistics”). He suffered the first of several serious strokes in 1985 but continued to compose. He wrote nine symphonies, six concerti grossi, many concertos, four string quartets, and the operas Life with an Idiot (1992), Gesualdo (1995), and Historia von D. Johann Fausten (1995).