Symphony No.5 - Alfred Schnittke

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly

I - Allegro: 0:00
II - Allegretto: 4:30
III - Lento - Allegro: 12:11
IV - Lento: 28:43

Schnittke's Fifth Symphony (or Concerto Grosso No.4) was composed in 1988, as a commission for the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam for its 100th anniversary. It was premiered on November 10 of the same year with that orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly. The work is unique in the sense that it begins as a concerto grosso for violin, oboe and chamber orchestra and finishes as a symphony for full orchestra.

The first movement begins with a rather simple and straightforward trumpet tune, but it is immediately distorted by the dissonant second voice supplied by the second trumpet. This tune functions as a Baroque ritornello of sorts; it is also heard as played by the concertino or small group, in this case, a violin, an oboe, and a harpsichord. In the course of the movement, the three solo instruments don’t always play as a unified group pitted against the orchestra: they also have individual solo passages and sometimes join in the orchestral tuttis as well.

The second movement uses the violin, viola, cello and finally the piano as soloists. Part of the movement is based on the reconstruction of the second movement of a piano quartet that Gustav Mahler had composed in 1876, when he was 16 years old. The orchestra begins the movement with atonal music, which through repeated crescendos does not achieve its purpose of reconstruction. The intervention of the soloists is canceled each time by the orchestra. In the final part, the soloists fully present the few written bars of the Malherian theme.

The third movement is written in sonata form for symphony orchestra. It begins with a slow introduction, which soon turns into a noisy atonal theme. A second lyrical theme interacts with the first, leading to a dramatic development. The music takes on a tumultuous atmosphere, full of bitterness and violence. The recapitulation adds some lyrical element within the destructive climate.

The last movement takes the appearance of a funeral march marked by percussion. The basses of the brass initiate a dramatic theme of a gloomy character, which will later be developed by the strings. A powerful crescendo leads us to the final epilogue. Music marked by a feeling of resignation closes the symphony.

The work is the fusion of two works, the first is one of Schnittke's typical concerto grosso's, followed by a symphony in two movements reminiscent of Schubert's unfinished one due to its structure and unresolved ending. Baroque music first and then Malherian romanticism are transformed by the composer's highly chromatic style, until they become unrecognizable.

Picture: "Peasants" (1930) by the Russian painter Kazimir Malevich.

Sources: https://bit.ly/3aj9ySz and https://bit.ly/34mO835

Видео Symphony No.5 - Alfred Schnittke канала Sergio Cánovas