Alfred Schnittke was born in Russia but grew up in Vienna. Schnittke explains his tendency for strong stylistic contrasts from these and other cultural diversities. In other words, the sublime and the banal clash for him like Belle and the Beast. It was his way of searching for identity and spiritual depth in a modern eclectic world. At least that's what you could make of it, although his arrangement
… of the Christmas classic Stille Nacht (last track) doesn't sound reassuring. Violinist Daniel Hope was already idolized by Schnittke's music in his teens. In the early 1990's he started to collaborate with the composer after he rang the doorbell of Schnittke's apartment in Hamburg. This CD includes the imposing Violin Sonata that made such an impression on the young Hope. The Suite In Old Style came out of Schnittke's work as a film composer. (HJ)more
