OANA ANDREICA
Between Two Worlds: Moz-art à la Haydn by Alfred Schnittke
Abstract
One of the most important advocates of the history of music, Alfred Schnittke made the reinterpretation of the great Western musical tradition his lifetime credo. His works continuously look back at it and bring it to the present using contemporary techniques, thus giving it new shapes and meanings. Consequently, Schnittke’s music is both a statement of a distant world and a symbol of the contemporary musical landscape.
This paper examines in short how Schnittke relates to his musical inheritance, as evidenced by one of his most ingenious endeavors of this kind, Moz-art à la Haydn for two violins, two small string orchestras, double bass and conductor.
Keywords:
Schnittke, polystylism, Mozart, quotation, intertextuality.