Search - Alfred Schnittke, Gerd Albrecht, Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra :: Schnittke: Historia Von D. Johann Fausten

A problematic masterpiece

A. Davey | n ireland | 11/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the one and only recording of Schnittke's final opera, albeit a truncated version made by the conductor Gerd Albrecht and the opera's producer. About 1 third of the musical material has been excised for this version, due in part to Schnittke's ill health during the making of this project, which prevented him from overseeing the production - in fact he predicted, rightly, that he would never fully complete the work.



The 3rd Act is well known as the Faust Cantata, composed in 1983. Those who are familiar with this latter work will discover a rendition more integrated to the sparer, leaner Acts 1 and 2 which were only written in the 1990s, and whose sound-world is akin to that of the contemporaneous, and controversial, 6th symphony, a sparse, uncompromising and austere work. Unsettling and otherworldy timbres permeate the opera, with such Schnittkian instrumental staples as electric and bass guitars, harpsichord and bells, plus guest instruments such as synthesizer (played by the composer's son Andrej).



This live recording boasts clear sound and great playing from the German orchestra. The soloists also are superb.



This recording, though, must constitute a work-in-progress, until another version of the opera is made, one which rehabilitates the missing music and Schnittke's original structural scheme.



This work is a masterpiece, but a flawed one, and essential repertoire for operas fans.



However, one is left with feelings of sadness and disappointment that Schnittke was unable to finish the work to his satisfaction before his death. What we are left with, though, is sufficient to adjudge the opera one of Schnittke's greatest achievements.





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