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Alfred SCHNITTKE (1934-1998)
Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano (1978) [21:47] Improvisation for Solo Cello (1993) [10:16]
Sonata No.2 for Cello and Piano (1993-94) [15:25] Musica Nostalgica for Cello and Piano [3:30] Epilogue (from the ballet Peer Gynt) for cello,
piano and tape (1993) [23:49]
Torleif Thedeen
(cello)
Roland Pontinen (piano)
rec. Nybrokajen 11, Stockholm, Sweden, November 2003 (Epilogue),
March 2003 (others) BIS CD-1427 [76:12]
This disc collects Schnittke's
works for cello and piano. These span a considerable period,
being written variously from 1978 to 1994. They thus cover
periods of his output both before and after the stroke had
such a profound effect upon him.
This performance of the First
Sonata is an excellent representation of a powerful and exciting
work which has rightly become established in the modern cello
repertoire. Dedicated to Natalia Gutman, the influence of
Schnittke's prolific work as a composer of film scores (as
noted by his biographer Alexander Ivashkin) is evident, particularly
in the dramatic and eerie second movement.
The fourth piece, Musica Nostalgica
- dedicated to Rostropovich - also has a connection
to this artistic activity. It originates from the score
Schnittke wrote for the 1965 film The Adventures of
a Dentist.
The Second Sonata and the Improvisation -
the latter again dedicated to Rostropovich - a cellist who
was strongly influential for Schnittke - reflect the more
sparse and stark approach the composer adopted following
the first of his series of strokes. The compact Second
Sonata is made up of a series of short, almost Webernesque
movements of sharply contrasting tempos within its dense
15 minute course. These alternate very slow with rather brisk
before dwindling to virtually nothing in a brave ending which
is bold in its lack of boldness.
The Peer Gynt epilogue
draws on material from the composer's 1986 ballet based on
Ibsen's play. Schnittke writes that he deliberately tried
to set aside the potential influence of Grieg's music whilst
working on this. However, the listener may find that this
is something they inevitably consider, if only by way of
comparison and contrast, when listening to this more complex
and ambiguous working of the same thematic source. Interestingly,
one of the ways in which the pianist here, Roland Pontinen,
may be known to British readers is through his excellent
performance of the Grieg concerto at the BBC Proms.
The performers are both holders
of the Swedish 'Litteris et Artibus' medal. Both perform
in chamber music and as concerto soloists. The cellist Torleif
Thedeen has been a professor at the Royal College of Music
in Sweden since 1996. He has also recorded an award-winning
CD of the Shostakovich cello concertos (BIS CD-626) and a
well-received disc of Bach's suites for solo cello, also
on BIS (CD-803/04).
The Swedish BIS label here continues
its commendable support for this composer's works and for
post-Soviet contemporary music generally. It also has, inter
alia, a high quality recording of Schnittke’s string
quartets (BIS CD 467). This is an interesting and worthwhile
collection, with a high standard of both playing and recording.
Whilst of particular interest with regard to the modern cello
repertoire, it is also a useful, if partial, insight into
the composer's stylistic range within the smaller scale of
chamber works.
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