Alfred Schnittke

Composition Types

Biography

Born: November 24, 1934; Engels, Russia   Died: August 3, 1998; Hamburg, Germany  
Upon his emergence in the West in the early 1980s, Alfred Schnittke became one of the most talked-about, recorded, and influential composers of the last decades of the twentieth century. Schnittke was born in 1934 in the Soviet Union to German parents. After living for several years in Vienna, he returned to Moscow to attend the Conservatory from 1953-1958. He returned there to teach instrumentation from 1962 through 1972. Thereafter, splitting Read more his time between Moscow and Hamburg, he supported himself as a film composer. Schnittke composed nine symphonies, six concerti grossi, four violin concertos, two cello concertos, concertos for piano and a triple concerto for violin, viola and cello, four string quartets, ballet scores, choral and vocal works. His first opera, Life with an Idiot, was premiered in Amsterdam (April 1992). Two more operas, Gesualdo and Historia von D. Johann Fausten were unveiled in Vienna (May 1995) and Hamburg (June 1995) respectively. In 1985, Schnittke suffered a series of strokes, but nevertheless entered into the most creative period of his life. From 1990 until his death in 1998, he lived exclusively in Hamburg.

A Jewish-born Christian mystic, Schnittke had philosophical theories that permeated his music. According to his biographer Alexander Ivashkin, he believed a composer "should be a medium or a sensor remembering what he hears from somewhere else and whose mind acts as a translator only. Music comes from some sort of divine rather than human area." (Alfred Schnittke, Phaedon Press 1995). Read less

Featured Alfred Schnittke CDs & DVDs:

Schnittke, Takemitsu, Weill / Hope, Boughton, English So
Schnittke, Takemitsu, Weill / Hope, Boughton, English So
Release Date: 02/23/1999   Label: Nimbus  
Catalog: 5582   Number of Discs: 1
On sale! $18.99
CD: $14.99
In Stock
BUY 
On sale!   $18.99   CD:  $14.99 Add CD to Cart

Shostakovich, Schnittke: Piano Trios / Vienna Piano Trio
Shostakovich, Schnittke: Piano Trios / Vienna Piano Trio
Release Date: 11/17/1998   Label: Nimbus  
Catalog: 5572   Number of Discs: 1
On sale! $18.99
CD: $14.99
Low Stock
BUY 
On sale!   $18.99   CD:  $14.99 Add CD to Cart

Schnittke: Sonata No. 1; Schubert: Sonata Relique / Vladimir Feltsman
Schnittke: Sonata No. 1; Schubert: Sonata Relique / Vladimir Feltsman
Release Date: 02/10/2015   Label: Nimbus  
Catalog: 6284   Number of Discs: 1
On sale! $18.99
CD: $14.99
In Stock
BUY 
On sale!   $18.99   CD:  $14.99 Add CD to Cart

Browse 1-25 of 211 Available Recordings
1 2 ... 8 9
  • 1.
    Schnittke: Works For Violin And Piano / Hope, Botvinov
    Schnittke: Works For Violin And Piano / Hope, Botvinov
    Label: Deutsche Grammophon   Catalog: 003331602 Release Date: 02/19/2021   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Alfred Schnittke,  Franz Xaver Gruber
    Performer:  Daniel Hope,  Alexey Botvinov
    CD: $22.49
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $22.49 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 2.
    Russian Chamber Music / Borodin Quartet
    Russian Chamber Music / Borodin Quartet
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 520463 Release Date: 10/09/2020   Number of Discs: 8
    Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Dmitri Shostakovich,  Alexander Borodin,  Vissarion Yakovlevich She  ... 
    Performer:  Natalia Gutman,  Yuri Bashmet,  Ludmilla Berlinsky,  Elisabeth Leonskaja
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Borodin String Quartet,  Borodin String Quartet members
    On sale! $21.98
    CD: $19.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    On sale!   $21.98   CD:  $19.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 3.
    Alban Berg Quartett - The Complete Recordings
    Alban Berg Quartett - The Complete Recordings
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 538517 Release Date: 08/07/2020   Number of Discs: 70
    Composer:  Alban Berg,  Franz Joseph Haydn,  Franz Schubert,  Anton Webern  ... 
    Performer:  Günter Pichler,  Klaus Maetzel,  Valentin Erben,  Hatto Beyerle  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Alban Berg String Quartet,  Germany Amadeus Ensemble,  Alban Berg String Quartet members
    Recommendation
    On sale! $139.98
    CD: $136.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    On sale!   $139.98   CD:  $136.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 4.
    Voices of Angels / Stotijn, Power, Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble
    Voices of Angels / Stotijn, Power, Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble
    Label: Bis   Catalog: 2344 Release Date: 07/03/2020   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Brett Dean,  Sofia Gubaidulina,  Sergei Rachmaninov,  Johann Sebastian Bach  ... 
    Performer:  Andrej Power,  Lawrence Power,  Christianne Stotjin,  Rick Stotijn  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble
    SuperAudio CD: $19.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    SuperAudio CD:  $19.99 Add to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 5.
    Chormusik der Welt / Creed, SWR Vocal Ensemble
    Chormusik der Welt / Creed, SWR Vocal Ensemble
    Label: Swr Music   Catalog: 19100 Release Date: 06/12/2020   Number of Discs: 9
    Composer:  Aaron Copland,  John Cage,  Morton Feldman,  Leonard Bernstein  ... 
    Performer:  Kerstin Steube,  Rüdiger Linn,  Philip Niederberger,  Angelika [Soprano Vocal] Lenter  ... 
    Conductor:  Marcus Creed
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Southwest German Radio Vocal Ensemble,  SWR Vocal Ensemble
    Recommendation
    CD: $39.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $39.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 6.
    Shostakovich - Schnittke - Lutoslawski / Matsuev, Tarkovi, Kammerorchester Wien-Berlin
    Shostakovich - Schnittke - Lutoslawski / Matsuev, Tarkovi, Kammerorchester Wien-Berlin
    Label: Deutsche Grammophon   Catalog: 4838489 Release Date: 04/10/2020   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Dmitri Shostakovich,  Alfred Schnittke,  Witold Lutoslawski
    Performer:  Denis Matsuev,  Gabor Tarkovi,  Thomas Lechner
    Conductor:  Rainer Honeck
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Kammerorchester Wien-Berlin
    CD: $18.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $18.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 7.
    Russian Visions: 20th-Century Music for Cello & Piano / Vukotic, Firsova
    Russian Visions: 20th-Century Music for Cello & Piano / Vukotic, Firsova
    Label: Somm   Catalog: 606 Release Date: 01/17/2020   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Igor Stravinsky,  Alfred Schnittke,  Dmitri Smirnov
    Performer:  Bozidar Vukotic,  Alissa Firsova
    CD: $18.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $18.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 8.
    Tchaikovsky & Babajanian: Piano Trios / Gluzman, Moser, Sudbin
    Tchaikovsky & Babajanian: Piano Trios / Gluzman, Moser, Sudbin
    Label: Bis   Catalog: 2372 Release Date: 10/04/2019   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Arno Babadjanian,  Alfred Schnittke
    Performer:  Vadim Gluzman,  Johannes Moser,  Yevgeny Sudbin
    Recommendation
    SuperAudio CD: $19.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    SuperAudio CD:  $19.99 Add to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 9.
    Prism II / Danish String Quartet
    Prism II / Danish String Quartet
    Label: Ecm   Catalog: 003095002 Release Date: 09/13/2019   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Alfred Schnittke,  Ludwig van Beethoven
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Danish String Quartet
    Recommendation
    CD: $24.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $24.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 10.
    Portrait of a Lover / Frackiewicz
    Portrait of a Lover / Frackiewicz
    Label: Genuin Musikproduction   Catalog: 19665 Release Date: 09/06/2019   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Alfred Schnittke,  Luciano Berio,  Jean-Philippe Rameau,  Mikolaj Majkusiak  ... 
    Performer:  Maciej Frąckiewicz
    CD: $18.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $18.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 11.
    Weinberg, Penderecki & Schnittke: String Trios / Trio Lirico
    Weinberg, Penderecki & Schnittke: String Trios / Trio Lirico
    Label: Audite   Catalog: 97753 Release Date: 09/06/2019   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Mieczyslaw Weinberg,  Krzysztof Penderecki,  Alfred Schnittke
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Trio Lirico
    CD: $18.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $18.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 12.
    Elusive Affinity / Gourari
    Elusive Affinity / Gourari
    Label: Ecm   Catalog: 003005402 Release Date: 06/21/2019   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Alfred Schnittke,  Giya Kancheli,  Rodion Shchedrin  ... 
    Performer:  Anna Gourari
    CD: $24.99
    Low Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $24.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 13.
    Some Like It Plucked / Ayrton, Gould, Les Inventions
    Some Like It Plucked / Ayrton, Gould, Les Inventions
    Label: Globe   Catalog: 5272 Release Date: 05/10/2019   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  George Gershwin,  Alec Templeton,  Alfred Schnittke,  Erroll Garner  ... 
    Performer:  Patrick Ayrton,  Thomas Gould
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Les Inventions
    CD: $17.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $17.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 14.
    Mozart: Divertimento, K. 563 - Schnittke: String Trio / Lubotsky Trio
    Mozart: Divertimento, K. 563 - Schnittke: String Trio / Lubotsky Trio
    Label: Melodiya   Catalog: 1002566 Release Date: 02/01/2019   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,  Alfred Schnittke
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Lubotsky Trio
    CD: $18.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $18.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 15.
    Tabula Rasa / Padovani, Korsakova
    Tabula Rasa / Padovani, Korsakova
    Label: Ars Produktion   Catalog: 38552 Release Date: 11/16/2018   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Arvo Pärt,  Antonio Vivaldi,  Alfred Schnittke
    Performer:  Manrico Padovani,  Natasha Korsakova
    Conductor:  Charles Olivieri-Munroe
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  North Czech Philharmonic
    CD: $18.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $18.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 16.
    Through the Lens of TIme / Fullana
    Through the Lens of TIme / Fullana
    Label: Orchid Classics   Catalog: 100080 Release Date: 03/02/2018   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Max Richter,  Isang Yun,  Alfred Schnittke,  Salvador Brotons
    Performer:  Francisco Fullana,  David Fung
    Conductor:  Carlos Izcaray
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
    CD: $17.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $17.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 17.
    Baltic Voices / Hillier, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
    Baltic Voices / Hillier, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
    Label: Harmonia Mundi   Catalog: 2908793 Release Date: 02/16/2018   Number of Discs: 3
    Composer:  Veljo Tormis,  Peteris Vasks,  Sven-David Sandström,  Arvo Pärt  ... 
    Performer:  Tiit Kogermann,  Iris Oja,  Aarne Talvik,  Kaia Galina Urb  ... 
    Conductor:  Paul Hillier
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir,  Tallinn Chamber Orchestra,  Raschčr Saxophone Quartet
    Recommendation
    On sale! $17.98
    CD: $15.99
    Low Stock
    BUY 
    On sale!   $17.98   CD:  $15.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 18.
    Schnittke: Requiem & Sacred Hymns / Stasiowska-Chrobak, University of Rzeszow Music Faculty
    Schnittke: Requiem & Sacred Hymns / Stasiowska-Chrobak, University of Rzeszow Music Faculty
    Label: Dux Records   Catalog: 1407 Release Date: 02/02/2018   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Alfred Schnittke
    Performer:  Agnieszka Kuk,  Katarzyna Oles-Blacha,  Monika Korybalska,  Olga Maroszek  ... 
    Conductor:  Bozena Stasiowska-Chrobak
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  University of Rzeszow Music Faculty Choir,  Artur Malawski Philharmonic Instrumental Ensemble
    CD: $19.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $19.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 19.
    Exiled Music: Works for Violin & Piano from the 20th & 21st Centuries / Duo Artdeco Wien
    Exiled Music: Works for Violin & Piano from the 20th & 21st Centuries / Duo Artdeco Wien
    Label: Austrian Gramophone   Catalog: 8 Release Date: 01/05/2018   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Erich Wolfgang Korngold,  Nikolai A. Roslavets,  Reza Najfar,  Alfred Schnittke  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Duo Artdeco Wien
    On sale! $18.99
    CD: $16.99
    Back Order
    BUY 
    On sale!   $18.99   CD:  $16.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 20.
    Schnittke & Part: Choral Works / Putnins, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
    Schnittke & Part: Choral Works / Putnins, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
    Label: Bis   Catalog: 2292 Release Date: 01/05/2018   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Alfred Schnittke,  Arvo Pärt
    Conductor:  Kaspars Putnins
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
    Recommendation
    SuperAudio CD: $19.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    SuperAudio CD:  $19.99 Add to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 21.
    Signature / Pryn
    Signature / Pryn
    Label: Danacord   Catalog: 762 Release Date: 01/05/2018   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Bent Sorensen,  Rafal Augustyn,  Alfred Schnittke,  Pierre Boulez  ... 
    Performer:  Christine Michaela Pryn
    CD: $17.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $17.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 22.
    Suites & Fantasies / Sir, Andrievsky
    Suites & Fantasies / Sir, Andrievsky
    Label: Rubicon   Catalog: 1003 Release Date: 06/16/2017  
    Composer:  Alfred Schnittke,  Manuel de Falla,  Benjamin Britten,  Darius Milhaud  ... 
    Performer:  Joo Yeon Sir,  Irina Andrievsky
    On sale! $19.98
    CD: $16.99
    Low Stock
    BUY 
    On sale!   $19.98   CD:  $16.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 23.
    Schnittke: Concerto Grossi Nos. 1 & 2 / Moscow Philharmonic Society, USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony
    Schnittke: Concerto Grossi Nos. 1 & 2 / Moscow Philharmonic Society, USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony
    Label: Musical Concepts   Catalog: 1341 Release Date: 05/30/2017   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Alfred Schnittke
    Performer:  Gidon Kremer,  Tatiana Grindenko,  Natalia Gutman,  Oleg Kagan
    Conductor:  Yuri Bashmet,  Gennadi Rozhdestvensky
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Moscow Philharmonic Society Soloists,  USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra
    CD: $9.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $9.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 24.
    Complete Concerto Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon / Kremer
    Complete Concerto Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon / Kremer
    Label: Dg Deutsche Grammophon   Catalog: 002582102 Release Date: 11/18/2016   Number of Discs: 22
    Composer:  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Béla Bartók,  Alban Berg,  Ludwig van Beethoven  ... 
    Performer:  Gidon Kremer,  Heinz Holliger,  Mischa Maisky,  Rainer Keuschnig  ... 
    Conductor:  Gidon Kremer,  Pierre Boulez,  Sir Colin Davis,  Emil Tchakarov  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,  Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra  ... 
    CD: $126.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    CD:  $126.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

  • 25.
    Schnittke: Violin Sonata No. 2, Piano Quintet & Congratulatory Rondo / St. Petersburg Ensemble
    Schnittke: Violin Sonata No. 2, Piano Quintet & Congratulatory Rondo / St. Petersburg Ensemble
    Label: Northern Flowers   Catalog: 9908 Release Date: 09/16/2016  
    Composer:  Alfred Schnittke
    Performer:  Lidiya Kovalenko,  Yuri Serov,  Alexey Baev,  Alexei Popov  ... 
    On sale! $17.98
    CD: $15.99
    In Stock
    BUY 
    On sale!   $17.98   CD:  $15.99 Add CD to Cart
    WISH LIST

1 2 ... 8 9