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Polystylism is the use of multiple styles or techniques in literature, art, film, or, especially, music, and is a postmodern characteristic.

Some prominent contemporary polystylist composers include Peter Maxwell Davies, Michael Colgrass, Lera Auerbach, Sofia Gubaidulina, George Rochberg,^{[citation needed]} Alfred Schnittke,^[1] Django Bates, Alexander Zhurbin, Lev Zhurbin and John Zorn.^{[citation needed]} However, Gubaidulina, among others, has rejected the term as not applicable to her work.^[2] Polystylist composers from earlier in the twentieth century include Charles Ives^[3] and Eric Satie.^[4] Among literary figures, James Joyce has been referred to as a polystylist.^[5]

Though perhaps not the original source of the term, the first important essay on the subject is Alfred Schnittke's essay "Polystylistic Tendencies in Modern Music (1971)".^[6] The composers cited by Schnittke as those who make use of polystylism are Alban Berg, Luciano Berio, Pierre Boulez, Edison Denisov, Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, Jan Klusák, György Ligeti, Carl Orff, Arvo Pärt, Krzysztof Penderecki, Henri Pousseur, Rodion Shchedrin, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Slonimsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Igor Stravinsky, Boris Tishchenko, Anton Webern, and Bernd Alois Zimmermann.

See also[link]

• 21st-century classical music
• Postmodern music
• Eclecticism
• Eclecticism in music
• Bricolage
• Collage

References[link]

1. ^ Ivan Moody, "The Music of Alfred Schnittke", Tempo new series, no. 168, 50th Anniversary 1939-1989 (March 1989): 4–11. Citation on 4.
2. ^ Vera Lukomsky, "Sofia Gubaidulina: 'My Desire Is Always to Rebel, to Swim against the Stream!'”. Perspectives of New Music 36. no. 1 (Winter 1998): 5–41, citation on 24-26.
3. ^ Nachum Schoffman, "Charles Ives's Song 'Vote for Names', Current Musicology 23 (1977): 56–68.
4. ^ Daniel Albright, "Postmodern Interpretations of Satie's Parade", Canadian University Music Review/Revue de Musique des Universités Canadiennes 22, no. 1 (2002): 22–39.
5. ^ Rudolph von Abele, "Film as Interpretation: A Case Study of Ulysses", Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 31 (1973): 487–500, citation on 495.
6. ^ Alfred Schnittke, "Polystylistic Tendencies in Modern Music (1971)", in A Schnittke Reader, edited by Aleksandr Ivashkin, English translation by John Derek Goodliffe, 87–90 (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002) ISBN 0-253-33818-2, ISBN 978-0-253-33818-1.

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Arvo Pärt in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, 2008

Arvo Pärt (born 11 September 1935; Estonian pronunciation: [ˈɑrvo ˈpært]) is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music.^[1] Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-invented compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also takes inspiration from Gregorian chant.^[2]

Pärt was born in Paide, Järva County, Estonia. A prolonged struggle with Soviet officials led him to emigrate with his wife and their two sons in 1980. He lived first in Vienna, where he took Austrian citizenship, and then re-located to Berlin. He returned to Estonia around the turn of the 21st century and now lives alternately in Berlin^[3] and in Tallinn.^[4]

Musical development[link]

Familiar works by Pärt are Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten for string orchestra and bell (1977) and the string quintet "Fratres I" (1977, revised 1983), which he transcribed for string orchestra and percussion, the solo violin "Fratres II" and the cello ensemble "Fratres III" (both 1980).

Pärt is often identified with the school of minimalism and, more specifically, that of mystic minimalism or holy minimalism.^[5] He is considered a pioneer of the latter style, along with contemporaries Henryk Górecki and John Tavener.^[6] Although his fame initially rested on instrumental works such as Tabula Rasa and Spiegel im Spiegel, his choral works have also come to be widely appreciated.

Pärt's musical education began at age seven. He began attending music school in Rakvere, where his family lived. By the time he reached his early teen years, Pärt was writing his own compositions. While studying composition with Heino Eller at the Tallinn Conservatory in 1957,^[4] it was said of him that "he just seemed to shake his sleeves and notes would fall out."

In this period of Estonian history, Pärt was unable to encounter many musical influences from outside the Soviet Union except for a few illegal tapes and scores. Although Estonia had been an independent Baltic state at the time of Pärt's birth, the Soviet Union occupied it in 1940 as a result of the Soviet-Nazi Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact; and the country would then remain under Soviet domination—except for the three-year period of German wartime occupation—for the next 51 years.

Musical oeuvre[link]

Arvo Pärt in 2011

Pärt's oeuvre is generally divided into two periods. He composed his early works using a range of neo-classical styles influenced by Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Bartók. He then began to compose using Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique and serialism. This, however, not only earned the ire of the Soviet establishment, but also proved to be a creative dead-end. When early works were banned by Soviet censors, Pärt entered the first of several periods of contemplative silence, during which he studied choral music from the 14th to 16th centuries.^[4] In this context, Pärt's biographer, Paul Hillier, observed that "He had reached a position of complete despair in which the composition of music appeared to be the most futile of gestures, and he lacked the musical faith and will-power to write even a single note."

The spirit of early European polyphony informed the composition of Pärt's transitional Third Symphony (1971); and thereafter, he immersed himself in early music, re-investigating the roots of Western music. He studied plainsong, Gregorian chant, and the emergence of polyphony in the European Renaissance.

The music that began to emerge after this period was radically different. This period of new compositions included Fratres, Cantus In Memoriam Benjamin Britten, and Tabula Rasa.^[4] Pärt describes the music of this period as tintinnabuli—like the ringing of bells. Spiegel im Spiegel (1978) is a well-known example which has been used in many films. The music is characterised by simple harmonies, often single unadorned notes, or triads, which form the basis of Western harmony. These are reminiscent of ringing bells. Tintinnabuli works are rhythmically simple and do not change tempo. Another characteristic of Pärt's later works is that they are frequently settings for sacred texts, although he mostly chooses Latin or the Church Slavonic language used in Orthodox liturgy instead of his native Estonian language. Large-scale works inspired by religious texts include St. John Passion, Te Deum, and Litany. Choral works from this period include Magnificat and The Beatitudes.^[4]

Of his popularity, Steve Reich has written: "Even in Estonia, Arvo was getting the same feeling that we were all getting .... I love his music, and I love the fact that he is such a brave, talented man .... He's completely out of step with the zeitgeist and yet he's enormously popular, which is so inspiring. His music fulfills a deep human need that has nothing to do with fashion."^[7] Pärt's music came to public attention in the West, largely thanks to Manfred Eicher who recorded several of Pärt's compositions for ECM Records starting in 1984.

Invited by Walter Fink, he was the 15th composer featured in the annual Komponistenporträt of the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2005 in four concerts. Chamber music included Für Alina for piano, played by himself, Spiegel im Spiegel and Psalom for string quartet. The chamber orchestra of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra played his Trisagion, Fratres and Cantus along with works of Bach. The Windsbach Boys Choir and soloists Sibylla Rubens, Ingeborg Danz, Markus Schäfer and Klaus Mertens performed Magnificat and Collage über B-A-C-H together with two cantatas of Bach and one of Mendelssohn. The Hilliard Ensemble, organist Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, the Rostock Motet Choir and the Hilliard instrumental ensemble, conducted by Markus Johannes Langer, performed a program of Pärt's organ music and works for voices (some a cappella), including Pari Intervallo, De profundis and Miserere.

A new composition, Für Lennart, written for the memory of the Estonian President Lennart Meri, was played at his funeral service on 2 April 2006.

In response to the murder of the Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow on 7 October 2006, Pärt declared that all of his works performed in 2006–2007 would be in honour of her death, issuing the following statement: "Anna Politkovskaya staked her entire talent, energy and—in the end—even her life on saving people who had become victims of the abuses prevailing in Russia."^[8]

Pärt was honoured as the featured composer of the 2008 RTÉ Living Music Festival^[9] in Dublin, Ireland. He was also commissioned by Louth Contemporary Music Society^[10] to compose a new choral work based on St. Patrick's Breastplate, which premiered in 2008 in Louth, Ireland. The new work is called The Deers Cry. This is the composer's first Irish commission, having its debut in Drogheda and Dundalk in February 2008.

His recent (2008) Symphony No. 4 is named “Los Angeles” and was dedicated to Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It is Pärt's first symphony written in over 37 years, since 1971's Symphony No. 3. It premiered in Los Angeles, California, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on 10 January 2009,^[11] and has been nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

On 10 December 2011 he was appointed a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture for a five year renewable term by Pope Benedict XVI.^[12]

List of Works[link]

Awards[link]

• 1996 – American Academy of Arts and Letters Department of Music
• 1996 – Honorary Doctor of Music, University of Sydney^[13]
• 1998 – Honorary Doctor of Arts, University of Tartu
• 2003 – Honorary Doctor of Music, University of Durham^[14]
• 2008 – Léonie Sonning Music Prize
• 2010 – Honorary Doctor of Music, University of St Andrews^[15]
• 2011 – Chevalier (Knight) of Légion d'honneur^[16]
• 2011 – Membership of the Pontifical Council for Culture^[17]

International Arvo Pärt Centre[link]

The International Arvo Pärt Centre is being created in the Estonian village of Laulasmaa. The centre will include a research institute, an education and music centre, a museum, a publishing facility and an archive of the composer's works. It is planned to open in 2015.^[18]

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Hillier, Paul. (1997). Arvo Pärt. Oxford : Oxford University Press. 10-ISBN 0-19-816616-8; 13-ISBN 978-0-19-816616-0 (paper)

Further Reading[link]

• Andrew Shenton (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Arvo Pärt (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
• Chikinda, Michael (2011). "Pärt's Evolving Tintinnabuli Style". Perspectives of New Music 49, no. 1 (Winter): 182–206.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Arvo Pärt

• Arvo Pärt biography and works on the UE website (publisher)
• Arvo Pärt discography at Classical Net
• Arvo Pärt discography at MusicBrainz
• Arvo Pärt Conference at Boston University
• Complete Listing of Arvo Pärt's Works
• Arvo Pärt – extensive site
• arvopart.info – another comprehensive site with current news
• David Pinkerton's Arvo Pärt archive – yet another extensive site, with some good analytical writing.
• Biography in MUSICMATCH Guide – Small biography and list of works.
• Arvo Pärt and the New Simplicity – Article by Bill McGlaughlin, with audio selections
• Steve Reich about Arvo Pärt, in an interview with Richard Williams, The Guardian, 2 January 2004
• Spike Magazine Interview
• Lancing College Commission 'Original' Claudio Records Recording in the presence of the composer – Review/Information
• International Arvo Pärt Centre – most up-to-date info and more

Schnittke, April 6, 1989, Moscow. Photo by © Dmitri N. Smirnov.

Alfred Schnittke (Russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке (Al'fred Garrievič Šnitke); Engels, November 24, 1934 – Hamburg, August 3, 1998) was a Soviet and German composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony (1969–1972) and First Concerto Grosso (1977). In the 1980s, Schnittke's music began to become more widely known abroad with the publication of his Second (1980) and Third (1983) String Quartets and the String Trio (1985); the ballet Peer Gynt (1985–1987); the Third (1981), Fourth (1984), and Fifth (1988) Symphonies; and the Viola (1985) and 1st Cello (1985–1986) Concertos. As his health deteriorated, Schnittke's music started to abandon much of the extroversion of his polystylism and retreated into a more withdrawn, bleak style.

Life and career[link]

Schnittke's father, Harry Viktorovich Schnittke (1914–1975, rus.), was Jewish and born in Frankfurt.^[1] He moved to the USSR in 1927 and worked as a journalist and translator from the Russian language into German. His mother, Maria Iosifovna Schnittke (née Vogel, 1910–1972), was a Volga German born in Russia. Schnittke's paternal grandmother, Tea Abramovna Katz (1889–1970), was a philologist, translator, and editor of German-language literature.

Alfred Schnittke was born in Engels in the Volga-German Republic of the RSFSR, Soviet Union. He began his musical education in 1946 in Vienna where his father had been posted. It was in Vienna, Schnittke's biographer Alexander Ivashkin writes, where "he fell in love with music which is part of life, part of history and culture, part of the past which is still alive."^[2] "I felt every moment there," the composer wrote, "to be a link of the historical chain: all was multi-dimensional; the past represented a world of ever-present ghosts, and I was not a barbarian without any connections, but the conscious bearer of the task in my life."^[3] Schnittke's experience in Vienna "gave him a certain spiritual experience and discipline for his future professional activities. It was Mozart and Schubert, not Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, whom he kept in mind as a reference point in terms of taste, manner and style. This reference point was essentially Classical ... but never too blatant."^[2]

In 1948, the family moved to Moscow. Schnittke completed his graduate work in composition at the Moscow Conservatory in 1961 and taught there from 1962 to 1972. Evgeny Golubev was one of his composition teachers. Thereafter, he earned his living chiefly by composing film scores, producing nearly 70 scores in 30 years.^[4] Schnittke converted to Christianity and possessed deeply held mystic beliefs, which influenced his music.

A portrait of Alfred Schnittke by Reginald Gray (1972). Russian Academy of Music, London, U.K.

Schnittke and his music were often viewed suspiciously by the Soviet bureaucracy. His First Symphony was effectively banned by the Composers' Union. After he abstained from a Composers' Union vote in 1980, he was banned from travelling outside of the USSR. In 1985, Schnittke suffered a stroke that left him in a coma. He was declared clinically dead on several occasions, but recovered and continued to compose.

In 1990, Schnittke left Russia and settled in Hamburg. His health remained poor, however. He suffered several more strokes before his death on August 3, 1998, in Hamburg, at the age of 63. He was buried, with state honors, at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, where many other prominent Russian composers, including Dmitri Shostakovich, are interred.

Music[link]

Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich, but after the visit of the Italian composer Luigi Nono to the USSR, he took up the serial technique in works such as Music for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1964). However, Schnittke soon became dissatisfied with what he termed the "puberty rites of serial self-denial." He created a new style which has been called "polystylism", where he juxtaposed and combined music of various styles past and present. He once wrote, "The goal of my life is to unify serious music and light music, even if I break my neck in doing so." His first concert work to use the polystylistic technique was the Second Violin Sonata, Quasi una sonata (1967–1968). He experimented with techniques in his film work, as shown by much of the sonata appearing first in his score for the animation short The Glass Harmonica. He continued to develop the polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony (1969–1972) and First Concerto Grosso (1977). Other works were more stylistically unified, such as his Piano Quintet (1972–1976), written in memory of his recently deceased mother.

In the 1980s, Schnittke's music began to become more widely known abroad, thanks in part to the work of émigré Soviet artists such as the violinists Gidon Kremer and Mark Lubotsky. Despite constant illness, he produced a large amount of music, including important works such as the Second (1980) and Third (1983) String Quartets and the String Trio (1985); the Faust Cantata (1983), which he later incorporated in his opera Historia von D. Johann Fausten; the ballet Peer Gynt (1985–1987); the Third (1981), Fourth (1984) and Fifth (1988) Symphonies (the last of which is also known as the Fourth Concerto Grosso) and the Viola (1985) and 1st Cello (1985–1986) concertos.

As his health deteriorated, Schnittke started to abandon much of the extroversion of his polystylism and retreated into a more withdrawn, bleak style. The Fourth Quartet (1989) and Sixth (1992), Seventh (1993) and Eighth (1994) symphonies are good examples of this. Some Schnittke scholars, such as Gerard McBurney, have argued that it is the late works that will ultimately be the most influential parts of Schnittke's output. After a stroke in 1994 left him almost completely paralysed, Schnittke largely ceased to compose. He did complete some short works in 1997 and also a Ninth Symphony; its score was almost unreadable because he had written it with great difficulty with his left hand. The Ninth Symphony was first performed on 19 June 1998 in Moscow in a version deciphered – but also 'arranged' – by Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, who conducted the premiere. After hearing a tape of the performance, Schnittke indicated he wanted it withdrawn.

After Schnittke's death, others worked to decipher his score. Nikolai Korndorf died before he could complete the task, which was continued and completed by Alexander Raskatov. In Raskatov's version, the three orchestral movements of Schnittke's symphony may be followed by a choral fourth, which is Raskatov's own Nunc Dimittis (in memoriam Alfred Schnittke). This version was premiered in Dresden, Germany June 16, 2007. Andrei Boreyko also has a version of the symphony.^[5]

Selected works[link]

Orchestra[link]

Symphonies[link]

• Symphony No. 0 (1957)
• Symphony No. 1 (1969–74)
• Symphony No. 2 "St. Florian" (1979)
• Symphony No. 3 (1981)
• Symphony No. 4 (1983)
• Symphony No. 5 [Concerto Grosso No. 4] (1988)
• Symphony No. 6 (1992)
• Symphony No. 7 (1993)
• Symphony No. 8 (1994)
• Symphony No. 9 (1996–97; reconstructed by Alexander Raskatov)

Other orchestral[link]

• Pianissimo (1968)
• In Memoriam... (1977–78) (orchestral version of the Piano Quintet)
• Passacaglia (1979–80)
• Gogol Suite [Suite from 'The Census List'] (1980)
• Ritual (1984–85)
• (K)ein Sommernachtstraum (1985)
• Symphonic Prelude (1994)
• For Liverpool (1994)

Concertos[link]

Concerti grossi[link]

• Concerto Grosso No. 1, for two violins, harpsichord, prepared piano and strings (1976–77)
• Concerto Grosso No. 2, for violin, violoncello and orchestra (1981–82)
• Concerto Grosso No. 3, for 2 violins, harpsichord and strings (1985)
• Concerto Grosso No. 4 [Symphony No. 5], for violin, oboe, harpsichord and orchestra (1988)
• Concerto Grosso No. 5, for violin, offstage piano and orchestra (1990-91)
• Concerto Grosso No. 6, for piano, violin and strings (1993)

Violin concertos[link]

• Concerto No. 1 for Violin and Orchestra (1957, revised 1963)
• Concerto No. 2 for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (1966)
• Concerto No. 3 for Violin and Chamber Orchestra (1978)
• Concerto No. 4 for Violin and Orchestra (1984)

Piano concertos[link]

• Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (1960)
• Music for Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1964)
• Concerto for Piano and Strings (1979)
• Concerto for Piano Four Hands and Chamber Orchestra (1988)

Cello concertos[link]

• Concerto No. 1 for Violoncello and Orchestra (1986) – shares a theme with the String Trio from 1985
• Concerto No. 2 for Violoncello and Orchestra (1990)

Viola concertos[link]

• Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1985)
• Monologue for Viola and Strings (1989)
• Concerto for viola and small orchestra (1997)

Other instruments[link]

• Double Concerto for Oboe, Harp, and Strings (1971)
• Konzert zu Dritt, for violin, viola, violoncello and strings (1994)

Choral music[link]

• Nagasaki — oratorio (1958)
• Voices of Nature (1972)
• Requiem (1974–75)
• Minnesang, for 52 voices (1981)
• Seid Nüchtern und Wachet... [Faust Cantata] (1983)
• Three Sacred Hymns (1983–84)
• Concerto for Mixed Chorus (1984–85)
• Psalms of Repentance / Penitential Psalms (1988)^[6]

Chamber music[link]

• Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano (1963; orchestrated, 1968)
• Dialogue, for violoncello and 7 instruments (1965)
• String Quartet No. 1 (1966)
• Serenade for violin, clarinet, double-bass, piano and percussion (1968)
• Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano "Quasi una Sonata" (1968; orchestrated, 1987)
• Canon in Memoriam Igor Stravinsky, for string quartet (1971)
• Suite in the Old Style, for violin and piano or harpsichord (1972)
• Gradulationsrondo, for violin and piano (1973)
• Hymns I-IV, for violoncello and ensemble (1974–79)
• Prelude in Memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich, for 2 violins (1975)
• Quintet for piano and strings (1972–76)
• "Stille Nacht", arr. for violin and piano (1978)
• Sonata No. 1 for violoncello and piano (1978)
• Stille Musik, for violin and violoncello (1979)
• Hommage to Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, for piano six hands (1979)
• String Quartet No. 2 (1981)
• Septet (1981–82)
• String Quartet No. 3 (1983)
• String Trio (1985, also arranged as Piano Trio, 1992) - shares a theme with the Cello Concerto No. 1 from 1986
• String Quartet No. 4 (1989)
• Madrigal in Memoriam Oleg Kagan, for solo violin or violoncello (1990)
• Musica nostalgica, for violoncello and piano (1992)
• Peer Gynt: Epiloque, for violoncello, piano and tape (1993)
• Sonata No. 2 for violoncello and piano (1994)
• Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano (1994)

Solo instrumental[link]

• Fuga for solo violin (1953)
• A Paganini, for solo violin (1982)
• Piano Sonata No. 1 (1987)
• Klingende Buchstaben for solo cello (1988)
• Five Aphorisms, for piano (1990)
• Piano Sonata No. 2 (1990)
• Piano Sonata No. 3 (1992)
• Improvisation, for solo cello (1993)

Operas[link]

• Life with an Idiot, opera in 2 acts, libretto by Viktor Yerofeyev (1992)
• Historia von D. Johann Fausten, opera in 3 acts and an epilogue, libretto by Jörg Morgener (Jürgen Köchel) and Alfred Schnittke (1991–1994)
• Gesualdo, opera in 7 tableaus, a prologue and an epilogue, libretto by Richard Bletschacher (1993)

Ballets[link]

• Labyrinths, ballet in five episodes. Libretto by Vladimir Vasilyev. (1971)
• Sketches, ballet in one act. “Choerographic fantasia” by Andrei Petrov after the themes by Nikolai Gogol. (1985)
• Peer Gynt, ballet in three acts by John Neumeier based on Henrik Ibsen’s drama (1988)

Soundtracks[link]

• Adventures of a Dentist, motion picture directed by Elem Klimov (1965, material reused in Suite in the Old Style)
• The Glass Harmonica, animated film directed by Andrei Khrzhanovsky (1968, much material reused in Second Violin Sonata)
• Sport, Sport, Sport, motion picture directed by Elem Klimov (1971)
• Butterfly, animated film directed by Andrei Khrzhanovsky (1973)
• The Agony, two-part motion picture directed by Elem Klimov (1974, main theme reused in the finale of the Second Cello Concerto)
• Little Tragedies, three-part TV film directed by Mikhail Shvejtser (1979)
• Ekipazh (Air Crew), motion picture directed by Alexander Mitta (1979)
• Skazka Stranstviy (The Fairytale of the Voyages), motion picture directed by Alexander Mitta (1982)
• The Last Days of St. Petersburg (1992, new score for 1927 motion picture, co-written with the composer's son Andrey)
• The Master and Margarita, motion picture directed by Yuri Kara (1994)

Further reading[link]

• Alexander Ivashkin (1996). Alfred Schnittke. Phaidon Press. ISBN 0-7148-3169-7. 
• Alfred Schnittke (2002). Alexander Ivashkin. ed. A Schnittke Reader. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33818-2. 
• Альфред Шнитке (2003). Александр Ивашкин. ed. Беседы с Альфредом Шнитке. Классика XXI. ISBN 5-89817-051-0. 
• Peter J. Schmelz (2009). Such freedom, if only musical: The beginning of unofficial Soviet music during the Thaw. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-534193-5. 
• Amrei Flechsig, Christian Storch (Ed.) (2010). Alfred Schnittke. Analyse, Interpretation, Rezeption. Olms. ISBN 978-3-487-14464-1. 
• Christian Storch (2011). Der Komponist als Autor. Alfred Schnittkes Klavierkonzert. Böhlau. ISBN 978-3-412-20762-5. 
• Enzo Restagno (Ed.) (1993). Schnittke, EDT, ISBN 978-88-7063-177-7

References[link]

External links[link]

• Alfred Schnittke @ Boosey & Hawkes
• Alfred Schnittke on IMDB
• Biography
• Schnittke at his original publisher Sikorski (German)
• Site for fans of music of Alfred Schnittke (Russia)
• Works list
• Works list (with hypothetical opus numbers)
• Chronology of the composer's life
• http://www.artmajeur.com/grayportraits Two portraits of Alfred Schnittke by Reginald Gray.

Yitzhak Yedid
Background information
Born	(1971-09-29) September 29, 1971 (age 40) Jerusalem, Israel
Genres	JazzClassical

Yitzhak Yedid (Hebrew: יצחק ידיד‎, born 1971) is an Israeli Australian composer of classical music and jazz pianist.

Biography[link]

Yitzhak Yedid was born on September 29, 1971 in Jerusalem, Israel. His family immigrated from Syria. He studied at the Rubin Academy of Music and the New England Conservatory in Boston with Ran Blake and Paul Bley in 1997 and 1998.^[1] Yedid lives in Australia.^[2]

Music career[link]

In 1999 Yedid released his first CD, Compositions for Solo Piano, for the Musa label. This led to an invitation to perform in Scandinavia as the guest of the pianist Michael Smith, and to a joint recital in Sweden with the pianist Roland Pontinen. In 2001, Yedid’s second recording, Inner Outcry, was released, also for Musa. Yedid was commissioned to compose the suite Tachanun for the opening of “The Third Stream” festival in Vienna, Austria, in 2002. This composition has been performed many times in Israel including at the Kfar Blum Chamber Music Festival.

Myth of the Cave was commissioned by German record label Between the Lines. It was released in 2002. The five-movement piece has been performed at festivals in Germany and Austria, at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in Canada and at the Tel Aviv Jazz Festival in Israel. It is based on Plato's allegory of the cave, about cave dwellers imprisoned in near-darkness since birth whose sense of reality is distorted. One of them escapes to the outside world, reports on what he has seen and is put to death for his revelations.^[1]

In 2003 Yedid composed Passions and Prayers - Sextet in homage to Jerusalem for Between the Lines. It is a technically complex and conceptually melancholy composition that premiered at the 2004 Israel Festival. The CD released in August 2005.

Reflections upon Six Images was commissioned for the Third Stream Festival in Vienna Austria in 2004. The music depicts the union and division of images, colors, textures, styles and cultures inspired by the world of the imagination. The composition was performed at the Vienna festival in September 2004 and at the Etnakhta concert series in November 2004 in Israel. The CD was released at the end of 2005.

In 2005, Yedid composed the Oud Bass Piano Trio, performed at the Sibiu, Festival in Romania, as well as in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. in May and September 2005. In 2002, he joined Israeli jazz saxophonist Abatte Barihun to form the duo Ras Deshen. They recorded their maiden album on September 2002, which featured a blend of Ethiopian music and Free improvisation jazz.

Musical style and influences[link]

Yedid says his music is influenced by Arabic music. "When I was a child I went to the Syrian synagogue, where you hear all the melodies in the Arabic scales. I'm using microtonals in my compositions, and also using the Hassidic and Orthodox Jewish scales. This is all with free jazz and classical music, in equal parts."^[1]

Yedid's music contains a mix of elements. He says: "I'm dealing with very classical things, also with jazz and folk things--but it's not classical and it's not jazz and it's not folk. I'm using various techniques, like a painter who's trying to use all the materials he knows about. I'm trying to bring all these different elements together. My music is like a story--it's like a film or a play."^[1]

Works[link]

Compositions[link]

• "Out to Infinity" (2008)

Harp Solo commissioned by the '2009 international harp contest' a duty piece for the 50th anniversary of the contest.

• "Visions, Fantasies and Dances" (2007)

String Quartet commissioned by IBA music, 2006

Premier performance: March, 2008, Jerusalem Concert Hall

• "Nine images for Violin Cello and Piano" (2006)

Piano trio commissioned by IBA music, 2006

• "Chagall Project" (2006)

Seven Solo Piano pieces inspired by Marc Chagall

• "Since my Soul Loved"(2005)

Piano Quintet, in four movements, commissioned by Etnachta Concert Series, 2004

• "Oud-Bass-Piano Trio" (2005)

Trio for Oud, Double Bass and Piano, in five movements commissioned by the Oud International Festival, 2005

• "Psalms" (2004)

Three Singers, Ethiopian folk Dancer, Alto, Bass and Piano

• "Reflections Upon Six Images" (2004)

Quartet for Clarinet, Viola, Double Bass and Piano, in six parts.

• "Passions & Prayers, Sextet in Homage to Jerusalem" (2003)

Sextet for, Horn, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet, Trombone, Viola, Double Bass and Piano, in Five Movements.

• "Myth of the Cave" (2002)

Trio for, Clarinet/ Bass Clarinet, Double Bass and Piano, in five movements.

• "Ras Deshen" (2002)

For Voice, Krar, Piano

• "Tachanun" (2001)

Trio for Piano, Double Bass and Percussions. Suite In one movement

• "Tachanun"- Solo Piano version (2000)

Suite in one movement commissioned by Vienna Music Gallery Festival, Austria 2003

• "Full Moon Fantasy" (1998)

Solo Piano compositions commissioned by Musa records 1999

Publications[link]

• 2008: Analysis of "Out to Infinity"
• 2007: Oud Bass Piano Trio - New music incorporating a spectrum of contemporary and ancient styles. Sibiu Festival booklet (Romania), Vienna Festival booklet (Austria), International Oud Festival booklet.
• 2006: Analysis of "Since my soul Loved" Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), Israel
• 2005: Analysis of "Oud-Bass-Piano Trio" IBA channel, Israel
• 2005: "Psalms", Ethiopian tradition Kessim Liturgy Liner notes. Confederation House Program.
• 2004: Analysis of "Reflections Upon Six Images" IBA channel
• 2003: Analysis of "Passions & Prayers, Sextet in Homage to Jerusalem" CD Liner notes and Israel Festival program.
• 2002: Myth and Music, Allegory of the Cave, CD Liner notes, Vienna New Music Festival Booklet and
• 2001: Analysis of "Tachanun" (2001) WMG, Austria

Discography[link]

• 2008 : Oud Bass Piano Trio"

Mikhail Maroun- Oud Ora Boasson- Double- Bass Yitzhak Yedid- Piano

• 2006 : "Reflections upon six Images"

François Houle- Clarinet/Bass Clarinet Gal Hai- Viola Ora Boasson- Double- Bass Yitzhak Yedid- Piano

• 2005 : "Passions & Prayers, Sextet in Homage to Jerusalem"

Alon Reuven - horn Orit Orbach - clarinet & bass clarinet Yaron Ouzana – trombone Galia Hai - viola Ora Boasson - double bass Yitzhak Yedid - piano

• 2003 : "Myth of the Cave"

François Houle- Clarinet/Bass Clarinet Ora Boasson- Double- Bass Yitzhak Yedid- Piano

• 2002 : "Ras Deshen"

Abate Berihuen- Voice ans Saxophones Fentahon Malessa- Krar Yitzhak Yedid- Piano

• 2002 : DVD: "Tahanun Suite"

Recorded live at Israel Chamber music Festival August, 2001.

• 2001 : "Inner Outcry"

Vlad Nedelin- Percussions Ora Boasson- Bass Yitzhak Yedid- Piano

• 1999 : "Full Moon Fantasy"

Live radio broadcasts[link]

• 2008: IBA, Israel. Live recording concert of "Visions, Fantasies & Dances" & "Myth of the Cave"

• 2007: IBA, Israel. Live recording concert of "Nine Images for Violin Cello & Piano"

• 2006: Vilnius Radio, Lithuania. Live recording concert for Radio and Television of "Myth of the Cave"

• 2005: Sibiu, Romania. Live recording concert for Radio and Television of "Oud-Bass-Piano Trio"

IBA, Israel. Live recording concert of "Since My Soul Loved"

IBA, Israel. Live recording concert of "Oud-Bass-Piano Trio"

Baltimore University, U.S.A. Live recording concert of "Oud-Bass-Piano Trio"

• 2004: IBA, Israel. Live recording concert of "Reflections Upon Six Images"

IBA, Israel. Live recording concert of "Myth of the Cave"

• 2003: Tel Aviv Festival. Recording to television of "Ras Deshen"

• 2001: Chamber Music Festival, Galile. Recording to television of "Tachanun"

References[link]

External links[link]

• Yitzhak Yedid website
• AllMusic
• Maelstrom

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Tania Leon
Tania Leon
Born	Havana, Cuba May 14, 1943
Nationality	Cuban-American
Occupation	Composer / conductor
Awards	New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Website
http://www.tanialeon.com/

Tania León (born May 14, 1943 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban composer and conductor who has been recognized as an educator and advisor to arts organizations.

León's Music[link]

León's opera Scourge of Hyacinths, staged and designed by Robert Wilson with León conducting, has received over 22 performances in Germany, Switzerland, France and Mexico. Based on a radio play by Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka it was commissioned in 1994 by the Munich Biennale, where it won the BMW Prize as best new opera. The aria Oh Yemanja from Scourge was recorded by Dawn Upshaw on her Nonesuch CD "The World So Wide".

León's orchestral work Desde... was premiered by the American Composers Orchestra in March 2001 in Carnegie Hall. Horizons, written for the NDR Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg premiered at the July 1999 Hammoniale Festival, with Peter Ruzicka conducting. In August 2000, Horizons had its U.S. premiere at the Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival, Stefan Asbury conducting. León conducted the work with the Orchestre Symphonique de Nancy (France) in March 2002.

Drummin', a full-length cross-cultural work for indigenous percussionists and orchestra, was commissioned and premiered in 1997 by Miami Light Project and the New World Symphony. It opened the 1999 Hammoniale Festival, Hamburg.

Many of León's works have been recorded, including Batá, by the Foundation Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Snell and produced by Sir George Martin; Indígena, a collection of León’s chamber music; Carabalí (and already Batá) on the Louisville Orchestra’s First Edition Records; Rituál, for solo piano, and her arrangement of Moises Simons' song El Manisero for Chanticleer.

In 1998 she was awarded the New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She has received Honorary Doctorates from Colgate University and Oberlin College and awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NYSCA, Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest Fund, ASCAP and Koussevitzky Foundation, among others. In 1998 she held the Fromm Residency at the American Academy in Rome.^[1]

León was a founding member and first Music Director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem establishing their Music Department, Music School and Orchestra. She instituted the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Concert Series in 1978 and in 1994 co-founded the American Composers Orchestra Sonidos de las Americas Festivals as Latin American Music Advisor. From 1993 to 1997 she was New Music Advisor to Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic.

She has been guest conductor with the Beethovenhalle Orchestra, Bonn, the Gewandhausorchester, Leipzig, the Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Rome, the National Symphony Orchestra of South Africa, Johannesburg, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, the Netherlands, and the New York Philharmonic, among others.

Tania León has been the subject of profiles on ABC, CBS, CNN, PBS, Univision and independent films.

León has been a Visiting Lecturer at Harvard University, Visiting Professor at Yale University and the Musikschule in Hamburg. In 2000 she was named the Tow Distinguished Professor at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, where she has taught since 1985. Brooklyn College is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY), where she is also on the faculty of the CUNY Graduate Center, in Manhattan.

Works[link]

Chamber Works[link]

• A la Par, piano and percussion
• Acana, chamber orchestra
• Ascend, brass ensemble
• Bele, chamber orchestra
• De Color, violin and marimba
• De Memorias, woodwind quintet
• Dougla, large mixed ensemble
• Drummin' chamber orchestra
• entre nos, clarinet, bassoon, piano
• Escencia, string quartet
• Four Pieces for Cello, violoncello solo
• Haiku percussion ensemble, large mixed ensemble
• Hechizos, chamber orchestra
• Indigena large mixed ensemble
• Maggie Magalita, large mixed ensemble
• Paisanos Semos!, guitar solo
• Parajota Delate, mixed quintet
• Permutation Seven, mixed sextet
• Pet's Suite, flute and keyboard
• Saoko, brass quintet
• sin normas ajenas, large mixed ensemble
• Son Sonora, flute and guitar
• The Beloved, large mixed ensemble
• The Golden Windows, large mixed ensemble
• Tones, chamber orchestra

Orchestral Works[link]

• Bata
• Carabali
• Concerto Criollo, piano, solo timp and orchestra
• Desde…
• Horizons
• Kabiosile, piano and orchestra
• Para Viola y Orquesta, solo viola and orchestra

Vocal Works[link]

• Batey, vocal ensemble and instrumental ensemble
• De-Orishas, vocal ensemble (6 to 12 singers)
• Drume Negrita mixed chorus
• El Manisero, mixed chorus
• Ivo, Ivo, high voice and ensemble
• Journey, high voice and ensemble
• Oh Yemanja (Mother's Prayer), medium voice and ensemble
• Pueblo Mulato, high voice and ensemble
• Singin' Sepia, medium voice and ensemble
• Sol de Doce, vocal ensemble (6 to 12 singers),
• To and Fro medium voice

Solo Piano[link]

• Momentum
• Ritual

Opera[link]

• Scourge of Hyacinths

Interviews[link]

Tania León: What it Means to be an American Composer Tania León in conversation with Frank J. Oteri NewMusicBox August 1, 1999

Films[link]

• 1993 - The Sensual Nature of Sound: 4 Composers - Laurie Anderson, Tania León, Meredith Monk, Pauline Oliveros. Directed by Michael Blackwood.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tania León
• Peermusic Classical: Tania Leon Composer's Publisher and Bio
• Discography
• NewMusicBox: Tania León in conversation with Frank J. Oteri, 1999
• http://www.galegroup.com/free_resources/chh/bio/leon_t.htm
• Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music