Alfred Schnittke was a Russian composer known for his unique approach to composing music. He was a genius in creating diverse works: from melodies to cartoons to ballets and operas.
Biography of the composer
Alfred Schnittke was born on November 24, 1934 in the town of Engels, on the Volga. His father came from a Jewish family of Russian origin, which moved to the USSR in 1926, and his mother was German. Schnittke began his musical education in 1946 in Vienna, where his father, who was a journalist and translator, was sent to work. In 1948, the family moved to Moscow, where Schnittke continued to study piano and received a diploma in choral conducting.
The composer's career began in 1953. From 1953 to 1958, he studied composition at the Moscow Conservatory, where he completed his graduate school in 1961 and joined the Composers' Union the same year. In 1962, Schnittke was appointed teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, a position he held until 1972. After that, he composed music for films, by 1984 he had 60 films in his track record.
Creative way
Schnittke wrote music in a wide range of genres and styles. His Concerto Grosso No. 1 (1977) was one of the first works to make his name famous in the music world. Many of Schnittke's works were inspired by Kremer and other prominent performers, including Yuri Bashmet, Natalia Gutman, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Mstislav Rostropovich.
Alfred Garrievich Schnittke composed 9 symphonies, 6 concertos, 4 violin concertos, as well as 4 string quartets and many other chamber music, ballets, choral and vocal works. His first opera, Life with an Idiot, premiered in Amsterdam (April 1992). His two operas, Gesualdo and The Story of Dr. Johann Fausten, were performed in Vienna and Hamburg in 1995.
In the 1980s, Schnittke's music gained international recognition. The composer was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR, he is a laureate of numerous awards, including the State Prize of the Russian Federation for film music in 1986, the Austrian State Prize in 1991, the Imperial Japanese Prize in 1992, his music was noted with retrospectives and major festivals around the world. Alfred Garrievich Schnittke was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
In 1985, Alfred Garrievich suffered several strokes. Nevertheless, despite his physical weakness and poor health, Schnittke continued to work and remained creative. Since 1990, the composer's family began to live in Hamburg, where Schnittke taught at the Hamburg School of Music. He died, after another blow, on August 3, 1998 in Hamburg. The great composer was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
