Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

Introduction
Schnittke was born in Frankfurt in 1934. He is a Soviet and German composer. His work is heavily influenced by Dmitri Shostakovich and he developed a polystylistic technique in his works.==Work Analysis== I chose to analyze Concerto Grosso No. 1 by Schnittke. The piece is written for chamber orchestra and soloists. It is divided into six movements. The piece opens with a single piano that creates a mood using minor thirds. The piece then grows to be more chromatic and atonal by the later movements.

Comparisons
The opening reminded me of Pierrot Lunaire by Schönberg in the sense of how one theme created the mood. Schönberg used voices while Schnittke used the piano to set the tone for the entirety of the piece.

Observations
I was not the biggest fan of this piece when it came to subjective thinking. Objectively, I think this is a well crafted piece of music. I just did not seem to find any real pleasure in listening to it. It reminded me too much of music I would expect while waiting for something bad to happen.