'I have read all of Alfred's articles with enormous interest and enjoyment...[He] had such a profound insight into the music of other composers, and ...he found in it so many regular features that were hidden from others' - Mstislav Rostropovich, in the Preface. The compositions of Alfred Schnittke [...]
This biography of the Russian composer Alfred Schnittke (born in 1934) presents a portrait of a man whose musical input has been inextricably linked to the strictures of life in the Soviet Union. His music, as a reflection of Russian cultural and social traditions, as well as mentality, enjoys treme[...]