Alfred Schnittke is one of the narrow circle of composers of the Soviet period who have received solid recognition abroad. His music is characterized by a combination of different currents and techniques in accordance with the concept of "polystylistics", which he himself developed. In total, Schnittke created more than two hundred classics. For his work, he was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation and many other awards.
The first steps in a musical career and two marriages
Alfred Garrievich Schnittke was born in 1934 in Engels - the then capital of the Republic of the Volga Germans (now it is the Saratov region). And the boy's first language was just German, "great and mighty" he mastered later.
Alfred began to study music at the age of twelve. And three years later, the young man was taken to the choral department of one of the Moscow schools. While studying at this institution, Schnittke first tries to compose something of his own.
In 1953 he became a full-fledged student of the Moscow Conservatory. And then, upon completion of the main course, he continued his education as a graduate student.
In 1956, a young talented musician married Galina Koltsina, a student whom he met on vacation by the Black Sea. This marriage did not last long - until 1959. The reason for the divorce of the spouses was the accidental acquaintance of Alfred Garrievich with the charming Irina Kataeva. Schnittke gave Irina private lessons. At a certain moment, he realized that he had fallen in love with a beautiful student to unconsciousness. They got married in 1961, and soon they had a child - a boy Andryusha.
Schnittke in the sixties, seventies and eighties
For nearly eleven years, from 1961 to 1972, Schnittke taught several disciplines at the same Moscow Conservatory at the same time - reading scores, polyphony, instrumentation. In the same period, he began to actively manifest himself as an independent composer, to look for his own style, leaning more towards the European avant-garde. Quite indicative in this aspect is the work "Dialogue for Cello and Seven Instruments" (written in 1965).
In addition to this, in the sixties, Schnittke began to be attracted to work in the cinema. It is his music that sounds in the films "Daytime Stars", "The Crew", "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", "Hot Snow", "You and Me", "Belorussky Station", etc.
Since 1975, Schnittke has frequently appeared on stage as a pianist and performer of his own compositions. In 1977 Schnittke took part in a European tour with the orchestra headed by Saulius Sondeckis. Among other things, Schnittke's Concerto grosso No. 1 sounded at the concerts as part of the tour. Moreover, Alfred Garrievich personally performed the harpsichord and piano parts. This tour brought Schnittke worldwide fame. And it is quite natural that already in 1979 he entered the board of such an official body as the Union of Composers of the USSR.
A rather significant year in Schnittke's biography is undoubtedly 1985. This year, Alfred Garrievich created two great works at once - "Choir Concert" on the texts of the philosopher and poet Narekatsi (this is the most prominent representative of the so-called early Armenian Renaissance), and the famous "Alto Concert". And if the first concert is filled with optimism, then the second can be called extremely tragic.
In 1986, Schnittke was awarded the State Prize of the RSFSR for the musical design of several cartoons of the Soyuzmultfilm studio (in particular, the cartoon Autumn).
Stay in Germany and death
In 1990, in the era of turbulent changes and the collapse of the USSR, the composer, together with his faithful wife Irina, moved to Germany. Here he taught and worked on new compositions (for example, in 1991, an opera was completed under the title "Living with an Idiot").
In the Federal Republic of Germany, Schnittke's health began to deteriorate noticeably. The composer suffered several dangerous strokes, but he stubbornly continued to compose and create.
In June 1994, after a third stroke, Schnittke was almost completely paralyzed and was admitted to a well-equipped German clinic. Doctors prepared an individual miracle device for the sick musician, thanks to which Schnittke was able to record the melodies that came to his head. So Schnittke shared with the world his last magnificent creation - the Ninth Symphony.
Alfred Schnittke's heart stopped beating on the morning of August 3, 1998 in Hamburg. But the classic was buried all the same in Moscow, on the tenth site of the Novodevichy cemetery.
