Nicholas Roberts <[log in to unmask]> asked:

>I adore the Concerto for Piano and strings but have had more difficulty
>approaching the symphonies.  Could you enlighten me as to which symphonies
>I should persevere with.

Well, the first is a huge, weird mess of everything from Mozart up to
Charly Parker.  It was composed to confuse people and to disturb the Soviet
officials.  Thus if you have sense of humor I would give it a try, but its
certainly not the work to start neither with Schnittkes symphonies nor with
Schnittke in general.  The 3rd and 5th are in a similar polystylistic style
but not as messy.  They are a kind of retrospective, full of citations
(stylistically) of other composers.  The 2nd and 4th are quite different.
They have choir and soloists, are more quiet and sort of sacred.  Not much
polystylism here, though the 2nd is a dedication to Bruckner (not in style
- it resembles more the impression Schnittke had when visiting Bruckners
grave at St. Florian).  The syms 6-8 are late works (all from the second
half of the 9ties) and represent more absolute music.  No programme, no
polystylism.  Some people say they are a bit depressive, but that depends
on you - I would say they have some melancholic beauty....Well and the
9th...I would very much like to hear...All 8 symphonies are available from
BIS or Chandos.  If you like the piano concerto maybe a good starter would
be syms.  6/7 on BIS or sym.  8 on Chandos (this one is coupled with the
concerto grosso no. 6).  In case you want to listen to the 1st try the
Segerstam recording on BIS.  I think he is the right man for such a crazy
thing!

Achim Breiling