A CD review is a great writing exercise!

Alfred Schnittke's Symphony No. 8, performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra with Gennady Rozhdestvensky, is a disk that also includes his sixth Concerto Grosso. Both of these works are from later in his career--each is the last example of its corresponding form in his oeuvre--and show a composer who is at the pinnacle of his career and his skills. Like Gyorgy Ligeti, I see the late Mr. Schnittke as a musician whose biography mirrors the tumult of life in the latter two-thirds of the twentieth century in central and Eastern Europe. Born to German-Jewish parents fleeing the Holocaust, his family landed in the Soviet Union where I feel it's safe to say he was never the kid who fit in. His musical approach was hardly conducive to state support--his eclectic mix of styles (some call it "polystylism") fit right into the official Soviet anti-semitism of the times.

So why would we think of this odd term, polystylism, when we speak of Mr. Schnittke's music? His concerti grossi are probably the best example of this: the form itself, largely ignored since the 1700s, is one thing; frequent appearances of the harpsichord, relic of an even early time are another; and imagine a composer who manages to switch between atonal polyphony and florid Romanticism with a strong Russian accent in the same phrase!

The Symphony is the larger work here, and like nearly all of Mr. Schnittke's pieces, he has such a distinctive approach to harmony and the colors of the orchestra that if you know his other works, you'll recognize his sound instantly. There's a tartness to his harmonies and it seems that all of his works have a mournful hue--even when the intensity ratchets up (and there is considerable intensity here). Both orchestra and conductor have a good feel for the material, although notably less scintillating than the Russian orchestras provide.

Overall, the Concerto Grosso is the stronger work and the more pungent performance. No harpsichord here, the soloist group is pianist Viktoria Postnikova and violinist Sasha Rozhdestvensky (yes, he's related and so is she--but the story behind that seems a bit complicated), and the younger Rozhdestvenksy plays beautifully. I always enjoy the late Mr. Schnittke's concerti grossi, they often drift into a histrionic mood I find engrossing.

8 out of 10

CDs listened to today:

• Various Artists: Best of Techno, Vol. 1
• Deerhoof: The Runners Four
• Bedrich Smetana: Ma Vlast
• Various Artists: Totally Hits 3
• Paula Diehl: Right Of Way