a r t i s t : Alfred Schnittke (Dresdner Philharmonie-Dennis Russell
t i t l e : Symphony No.9
d a t e : 2009
l a b e l : Ecm New Series
g e n r e : Classical
r l s. d a t e : Feb/2009
t r a c k s : 04
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 69,0 MB
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Alfred Schnittke - Symphony No.9
Alexander Raskatov - Nunc dimittis
Dresdner Philharmonie
Dennis Russell Davies conductor
Elena Vassilieva mezzo-soprano
The Hilliard Ensemble
Composed shortly before his death in 1998, SchnittkeÆs
ultimate symphony û actually his very last work û is a ôNinthö
in a most unusual sense: Put down with a shaky left hand by an
artist who had survived four strokes and was laterally
debilitated, it is an impressive triumph of spiritual energy
over physical constraints. The composerÆs widow Irina treated
the barely-legible manuscript as a testament and was long
doubtful whom to entrust with the difficult task of
deciphering and reconstructing the highly expressive three
movements for large orchestra (some 38 minutes of music). She
finally settled on Moscow-born Alexander Raskatov, who not
only provided a thorough score but, convinced that Schnittke
had intended to write a fourth movement, also developed the
idea to add an independent epilogue, the ôNunc Dimitisö
(ôLord, let thy servant now depart into thy promis'd restö)
for mezzo soprano, vocal quartett and orchestra. It is based
on the famous text by orthodox monk Starets Siluan and on
verses by Joseph Brodsky, SchnittkeÆs favourite poet. Both
pieces were given their first performances in the Dresden
Frauenkirche in summer 2007 by the musicians of this world
premie`re recording which feautures long-standing ECM
protagonists the Hilliard Ensemble and conductor Dennis
Russell Davies.
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01-Alfred Schnittke - Andante [19:57]
02-Alfred Schnittke - Moderato [08:25]
03-Alfred Schnittke - Presto [08:32]
04-Alexander Raskatov - Nunc dimittis [16:11]
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53:05 min