There is a silver lining to the otherwise scandalously slow "time release"
of works by Alfred Schnittke, one of the most original and powerful of
20th century composers.  When, all too rarely, we encounter his compositions,
they invariably provide new, fresh, great experiences.

And so it was on Thursday, when the San Francisco Symphony gave the local
premiere of Schnittke's 1984 Violin Concerto No. 4, conducted by Michael
Tilson Thomas, with SFS concertmaster Alexander Barantschik as soloist.

So great was the 30-minute work's musical and emotional impact that it
relegated the preceding Liszt "Prometheus" and the following Schumann
First Symphony to virtual footnotes.

Poetic, spiritual, dreamy, contrasting breathtaking lyrical passages
with a few desperate outbursts of dissonance, the concerto grabs and
holds the listener as very few contemporary works do.  From its hymn-like
opening through a few jazzy riffs and dance rhythms of no identifiable
origin, Schnittke's work develops into a dialogue between the violin and
the orchestra, leading to some strange extra-musical place.

Apparently "silenced" by the orchestra at one point, the soloist makes
large, dramatic gestures with the bow over the violin but produces no
sound, performing a "visual cadenza," according to Schnittke's instructions.

Later, when the violin "regains its sound," a violinist from the
orchestra (placed with the audience in the terrace) echoes the solo
violin's phrases.  The orchestration is fully as dramatic and gripping
as in Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste," a work admired
by Schnittke.  A pair of beautiful melodies - described by the composer
as "two painted corpses" - run through the work, which concludes with
emotional, unresolved tension, and silence that speaks of important, but
perhaps indescribable matters.  Yet, none of these considerations about
program, thoughts, meaning, intention matter.  On one level - the one
that counts - it's "pure," glorious music.

Barantschik's performance - supported by MTT's knowing, selfless direction
of the orchestra in peak form - was musically and emotionally brilliant,
making the violinist's expressionless, Soviet style "stand and deliver"
personality unimportant.  At a time of spiked hair, miniskirts with slits
and cartwheels on the concert stage, it's OK to have someone who errs
in the other extreme.  Still, it would be good to have Rostropovich
around every time when Barantschik plays; the older Russian hugging and
kissing his talented colleague last time they played here together
produced a bright smile on the face which remains needlessly dour in
public.

Or, who knows, Barantschik might have been just channeling Schnittke,
a troubled, brooding man, especially late in life.  In contrast, what
Schnittke left behind and Barantschik's performance add up for the
listener to a gloriously happy experience of basking in the bright
light of great music.

The program will be repeated on Friday and Saturday; KDFC-FM will broadcast
the concert on Jan. 21.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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