PARADOX AND PARALLEL: ALFRED SCHNITTKE'S WORKS FOR VIOLIN IN CONTEXT

Abstract

In his works for violin, Alfred Schnittke explores and challenges the traditional boundaries of Western composition. This dissertation project is founded on the conviction that these works by Schnittke, despite their experimental and idiosyncratic nature, hold an integral place in the standard violin repertoire as well as in the broader canon of Western classical music. The argument will be supported by three recital programs that place the works in the context of that canon and an investigation of how Schnittke’s compositional language relates to that of the western European composers, revealing his complex and distinctive voice.

By tracking his deconstruction and reworking of the music of other composers, we see Schnittke’s particular formality and musical rhetoric, as well as his energetic and artistic drive, and we see that his works are not merely experimental—they renew the forms whose boundaries they transgress, and they exhibit a gravity, a timelessness, and a profound humanity, earning the composer his rightful place in the lineage of Western classical music.

The first and third recitals were performed in Ulrich Recital Hall, and the second recital was performed in Gildenhorn Recital Hall, all at the University of Maryland. Recordings of all three recitals can be accessed at the University of Maryland Hornbake Library.