The classical music landscape of the Soviet Union was tightly supervised by the Soviet Composers’ Union, which sought to promote party ideology by defining limits of acceptable behaviour . The union’s ideological agenda would come into conflict with many composers - even the Soviet greats Shostakovich and Pokofiev . Within this tightly organized environment, Alfred Schnittke emerges as a symbol of rebellious chaos and one of the most prolific Soviet composers.
Schnittke’s first symphonic work premiered in the faraway city of Gorky, hidden away from foreigners and party officials . Despite a positive reaction from the audience, the work was met with official distain and heavy criticisms by party affiliated reviewers, leading to the restriction …show more content…
Notable historic composers also make appearances in the form of repeated iconic themes throughout the work. Beethoven would be the first to arrive, as Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is quoted soon after the marches of the first half. Other composers of Handel, Chopin, Haydn among others would make appearances throughout. A common thread throughout these quotations are the differences between repetitions. For example, the second time the Beethoven theme is played, the theme becomes distorted and increasingly dissonant. In no time, the original theme can hardly be recognized as it is interrupted by the cacophony that is so common within the piece. It is interesting to consider the symbolic significance of this decomposition. Beethoven’s fifth is common associated with the story of a hero, sometimes interpreted as the composer as the hero. Therefore, by distorting and ultimately dissolving the recognizable theme, Schnittke is undercutting this idea, and rejecting the notion that the composer is the hero. In similar fashion, repetition of Handel’s theme is also distorted in each iteration. With Handel’s theme, at each iteration, the complexity of the theme increases while the theme itself becomes more distant. Almost as if the orchestra is struggling to remember the original theme, inadvertently adding content on top of a fading memory. In a way suggesting the iconic themes of the past are fading memories that …show more content…
The final section of the work begins with the famous Dies Irae funeral song. It is as if the orchestra bids farewell to its past form which has been so rigorously dismantled. Soon after, Dies Irae fades away to a rapid succession of styles heard previously then followed quickly by the musicians abandoning the stage. Then, the improvisatory introduction begins again, and with the arrival of the conductor, the piece unceremoniously ends. The abrupt ending to the work is puzzling as there is no logical conclusion, only repetition. This is a final subversion of audience expectations. Given what has come before this point, one would expect a conclusion, a conclusion or some explanatory passage. The expectation comes from the influence of other programmatic pieces. However, there is no message nor complete message within the work itself. The message is that there is no message, no story, and despite appearances, there is no program accompaniment for this piece. The abrupt, unceremonious ending reinforces the idea that there is no