Alfred Schnittke: Film Music, Vol. 5

Alfred Schnittke’s film music encapsulates almost everything that characterises the Russian composer’s compositional style.

Alfred Schnittke’s film music encapsulates almost everything that characterises the Russian composer’s compositional style.

A self-described polystylist, he began writing for film in the 1960s, penning 66 film scores between 1962 and 1984 for Soviet film companies.

His method of drawing on the past was rejected by the avant-garde but embraced by filmgoers and – after he invited the film music expert Frank Strobel to condense his film scores into suites – concertgoers too. Volume five in this series of Schnittke’s film music presents music from the films Tagessterne (‘The Stars of the day’), Der Liebling des Publikums (‘The Favorite') and Vater Sergius (‘Father Sergius’), recorded with Strobel and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.