Schnittke in Context

Author(s): John Webb

Source: Tempo, New Series, No. 182, Russian Issue (Sep., 1992), pp. 19-22
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/946100 .
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John Webb
Schnittkein Context

Generally,I find Alfred Schnittke'smusicreward- the incongruous foxtrots in Maxwell Davies's

ing and refreshing;however, I cannothelp treating St. Thomas Wake. Polystylism is a subset of
certain aspects of it with some suspicion. The stylisticpluralism.Stylesarecombineddisruptively,
elements which form the basis of my doubts are in a way thatexploitstheirincongruity.Therefore,
cogently summed up by Hugh Collins Rice: St. ThomasWakeis an example of polystylism,
whilst Prokofiev's First Symphony is not. The
Structures areoftenthemostbasicof designs,thematic
justification for the stylistic inconsistency of
techniquesappearunsophisticated(transformations,
canons,simpleheterophonicdevices).Climaxesare polystylism it often provided by its use in a
achievedby extravagantinstrumental gestures,long dramatic context. Therefore, polystylism can
pedalpointsareusedto unifyparagraphs ... andserial readilybe found in operaor programmaticmusic,
devicesamountto the simplestchromaticformations.1 for instance Henze's We Come to the River,
Maxwell Davies's Eight Songsfora Mad King, or
It is the disparity between this naivety of
Schnittke's cantata Seid Nuchternund Wachet. ..
technique and the strong emotional power of the
music which promptsmy suspicion.How can one Stylistic pluralism in music is nothing new:
examples occur in Monteverdi, Bach, Couperin,
trust the sincerity of a music which relies on a
Mozart,Beethoven, Schumann,Wagner, Mahler
repertoireof very simple techniques(for instance
of Ives. However, it is only in the
the distortionof borrowedmaterialby microtonal and, course,
20th century that polystylism has become a
or semitonal canon) to the point of cliche? I
feature in some composers' works.
sometimes feel that Schnittke is just 'going pronounced
Before this time, a composer would usually
through the motions'. ensure that a foreign style was seamlessly
Naturally, if the music seems to 'work' - and
into his own: for instance Wagner's
for me it usually does - then the techniques are integrated
adoption of quasi-baroque features in Der
immediatelyjustified: the music's argumentis so
Meistersinger. Where the borrowed style is more
compelling and its message so convincing that I
distinct from the composer's own style, the two
have to abandonmy doubts. In abandoningthem,
are carefully separated to avoid the listener's
I also abandoncertain Western attitudes;for my
confusion, as in Schumann's 'Chopin' from
doubts are in many ways symptomatic of the
Carnaval and 'The duet of the two armed men'
differencesbetween WesternandRussianmusical
from Mozart's The MagicFlute.
culture.
It was only at the beginning of the centurythat
Bearing this in mind, to appreciateSchnittke's
Mahler and Ives, in particular,began to explore
musical world, it is important to place him in a
context which takes into account both Western the potential of polystylism.Although they lived
and Russianmusical traditions.This can be done on different continents and had no contact with
each other, they shareda similarresponseto their
by examining Schnittke's most pronounced
era. They 'no longer saw the world as a neatly
technique, 'polystylism', and finding precursors
and parallels to it in the works of other ordered entity, capable of being rendered into
musical terms that are both consistent in content
composers.As the primaryaim of this articleis to
and syntactically logical'2. Despite their music
provide a context for Schnittke'smusic, I will not
concentrate on analysing the music itself. being very different aesthetically, their poly-
At this point it is worth providing possible stylism shows some similarities,for instance the
definitions for the terms 'stylistic pluralism'and incorporation of rather banal foreign elements.
The way in which we interpret these foreign
'polystylism'. For the purposes of this article,
is taken to mean elements is also similar for both composers; as
stylistic pluralism any type
of stylistic manipulation, be it Prokofiev's use Stephen Pruslin points out about Mahler,
of classical elements on the First Symphony, or 2
Robert P. Morgan, 'Ives and Mahler: Mutual responses to
1 'Further thoughts on Schnittke',
Tempo168, March 1989. the end of an era' NineteenthCenturyMusic,July 1978.

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20 Schnittkein Context

the quotationsof landler,marchesandfolk tunes- all

stylisedmusicaltypes existingbefore the fact of the
workitselfdo not representthe musicalstatement. ..
The statementexistsas a resultof the tensionbetween
the externalmeaningof the objectsandtheirmeaning
in context3.
Pruslin's comment is as applicable to Ives,
Schnittke, Davies, Henze, etc, as it is to Mahler.
Although both Mahler and Ives used poly-
stylism, it has been the music of Mahlerwhich has
had the most impact on Schnittke and other
polystylists. The following quotations help to
illustrate the point: Schnittke says, 'Of course I
feel particularlyrespectful of the work of Ives in
this domain (polystylism),but the most important
figure is undoubtedly Gustav Mahler'4; Henze:
'My relationship with quotation derives from
Mahler and Berg'5;Berio, talking about the third
movement of his Sinfonia:'It is another homage,
this time to GustavMahler (whose work seems to
bear within it the weight of the entire history of
music)'6.Although Maxwell Davies has said little
about either Mahler or Ives, links between him
and Mahler have been noted by Stephen Pruslin7.
In Maxwell Davies's case the link may be more photo: YngvildSorbye
indirect; his polystylism owes much to the
expressionism of Schoenberg and Berg, who in simulation of the chaotic sound world in which
turn owe much to Mahler. we live could never have attractedMahler', 'had
Ives has been an influential figure, but his Mahler written a piece out of that experience, it
polystylism was not the most influential aspect of would have been purely musical considerations
his music.John Cage may have felt some of Ives's that would have governed its composition'8.
influence, since their musical philosophies show However, as Robert P. Morgan points out, Ives's
definite affinities, but Cage only used a much materials are as 'musicalised' as Mahler's,
more haphazard form of polystylism in works althoughin a differentmanner.Mahler'sapproach
like Music Circus. Although these works may is simply more traditional that Ives's9.
superficially resemble Ives in their chaotic Mahler'smore traditionalbrandof polystylism
surfaces, in truth they are only distant relatives. only partlyaccountsfor his greaterinfluence. It is
Elliott Carter was certainly influenced by Ives, rather that Mahler's tone of voice, his Angst, is
but it was Ives's technical processes which more akin to the 20th-century zeitgeist than is
interested him, rather than his polystylism. For Ives's optimistic, all-embracing view of the
instance, in Carter's hands, polymeter became world. This is clearly demonstrated in Maxwell
metrical modulation. Davies's St. Thomas Wake. Superficially, the
At first it seems strange that Mahler's foxtrots invoke the ragtimebanalitiesof Ives, but
polystylism has been more influential than Ives's. the overall tone is much closer to expressionism
One possible explanationmight focus on the idea and therefore to Mahler.
that Mahler is the more 'musical' composer: Nonetheless, the influence of Mahler's poly-
'Ives's sometimes almost literal reproduction or stylism has also been fairly limited. Berg made it
3 StevenPruslin,'PeterMaxwellDavies'sSecondTavener serve expressionistends, for instancein the Violin
Fantasia' TempoBookletNo.2 - Peter Maxwell Davies: Studies Concerto and the Tavern scene from Wozzeck.
from two decades. Schoenberg also manipulated styles in some
4 Schnittkeinterviewed
by Robert Steinitz at the 1990 works, such as Pierrot Lunaire, but here the
HuddersfieldFestivalof ContemporaryMusic. Author's mixtureis more covert and not truly polystylistic.
transcript. In these expressionistworks polystylism createsa
5 Hans Wemer Henze, Music and Politics: Collectedwritings
1953-81(London:Faberand Faber,1982)p.153. 8 Donald Mitchell, Gustav Mahler - The WunderhornYears
6 Sleevenote for recordingof Berio'sSinfonia,
CBS61079. (London: Faber and Faber, 1975) p.170.
7 9 Morgan, ibid.
Pruslin,ibid.

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sense of nostalgia and loss, referring to a world
which can never quite be recaptured (for
instance, the glimpse of tonality at the end of
'O Alter Duft', the final song in PierrotLunaire).
The Mahler-derivedpolystylismof the expres-
sionists was not inherited by the next generation
of composers; instead a strong reaction against
romanticism (and expressionism) began in the
forms of neo-classicism and serialism. After the
anarchy of free atonality, a new order was
needed. Although neo-classicism allowed
composers to adopt models from the past, it did
not in any way condone polystylism. Hence
Stravinsky created a stylistic hybrid for each
work; he did not allow his own style and that of
his model to clash. Similarly,serialismallowed no
room for polystylism since it attemptedto create
an entirely consistent system of organization.
Even Schoenberg was criticized for the lack of
'intrinsic unity' in his serial works: 'that these
[classical] forms rule out every possibility of
organizationimplicit in the new material'.10The
pursuit of strict organizationalconsistency made
polystylismimpossible. Although in the West the
influence of Mahler'spolystylismwas diminished,
in the Soviet Union it was very important,
particularlyfor Shostakovich. In his music, the
voice of Mahler is rarely heard directly (the
Mahlerianfuneralmarchin the last movement of
Shostakovich's Fourth Symphony being an
exception), Shostakovich's debt to Mahler is
great, both in its general expression and more
specifically in the manipulationof style. As Eric
Roseberrysays, 'Could such a type of expression
have been possible without Mahler?'1l.The debt
becomesmore understandablewhen one examines
one of the cardinal theories of Soviet music.
The theory of 'Intonanzia',or intonation, was
developed by the composer and musicologist
Boris Asafiev (1884-1949), partly in response to
the tenets of SocialistRealism.The concept has its
roots in pre-revolutionary Russia and was
adopted from linguistics. 'Intonanzia'is broadly
defined as 'any kind of communicationby means
of sound'12. When applied to music, it 'is the
communicativeessenceof some musicalstructure,
linking composer and listener through the
medium of performance'13.This rathernebulous
10 PierreBoulez,
'Schoenbergis Dead'. TheRiseof Modernism
in
Europe(Open University A308 Documents booklet), p.60.
11 The ProtectiveMask
of Buffoonery,an interval talk broadcast
on Radio 3. Date of transmission unknown.
12
G.D. McQuere (ed), RussianTheoreticalThoughtin Music
(UMI Research Press, 1983) p.382.
13 ibid.
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Schnittkein Context 21
description is more fully elaboratedby Malcolm
H. Brown, who examines the intonationspresent
in the first movement of Shostakovich'sSeventh
Symphony.The first theme's intonations are of a
'stylised fanfare', 'the broad spaciousnessof the
Russian land', with the theme's lydian mode
'evoking an archaicRussian"colouration"'14.As
these descriptions demonstrate, the concept of
'Intonanzia'functionsby associationand imagery;
the 'communicativeessence' of a structureis often
derived from the associations and similarities
between it and structuresin other types or pieces
of music. In order to interpret a complete work,
the interaction of the various musical structures,
and hence intonations, would be considered.
'Intonanzia'can be a very vague concept, and
its applicationvery subjective in all but the most
unambiguousof music. However, it does indicate
that abstractionhas little place in Russianmusic.
A Russiancomposer would be quite comfortable
writing stylistically inconsistent music which is
given meaning externally via its associations.He
would probably be less comfortable writing
logically consistent, abstractmusic in which any
fortuitous associative meanings are ignored.
It is now clear why Mahler is of some
importance to Russian music, for his music
functions in a way very similarto the concept of
'Intonanzia'. This can be demonstrated by
examining the third movement of his First
Symphony. The first theme, FrereJacquesin the
guise of a funeral march, is followed by a
melancholy folk-like tune, which forms a stylistic
bridge between the funeralmarchand the vulgar
third theme (marked'Mit Parodie'),which is also
folk-like in character. At the climax of the
movement (fig. 16), the variousstyles are disrupt-
ively combined. The funeralmarchbegins, but is
suddenly taken over by another theme (plotzlich
viel schneller)which has strong associationswith
the Mit Parodie theme. Suddenly the cortege is
cavorting along, ratherthan processingwith due
respect. This movement is a description of a
picturecalled 'The hunter'sfuneralprocession'in
which 'the beasts of the forest accompany the
dead huntsman's coffin to the grave'15. The
animals'barelysuppressedgood humoursuddenly
rising to the surface is aptly described through
Mahler's manipulation of style. This type of
analysis, which describes themes by way of
association (as 'Intonanzia' does), interprets
14 Malcolm H.
Brown, 'The Soviet Russian Concept of
'Intonanzia' and Musical Imagery' Music Quarterly, 1974
p.557.
15 Mitchell, ibid.
22 Schnittkein Context

analysis, which describes themes by way of treats it with a sense of nostalgia or loss, as if
association (as 'Intonanzia' does), interprets trying to remember long distant, and perhaps
Mahler's stylistic inconsistency rather well. better, times. This is also true of Schnittke's
Admittedly the above is a fairly unambigious music. In the Viola Concerto, the soloist, trying
example - to explain the Ninth Symphonyin this to recapturea certaintype of romanticexpression,
manner would be slightly more difficult. plays an ascendingsequence of trills. But he fails
The doctrine of SocialistRealismattemptedto to recapturethe past, andis broughtback down to
limit the intonations composers could use to the harshnessof reality by the orchestra. In the
those which were primarilyoptimistic in nature. last movement of the Piano Quintet, the sense of
Shostakovich's solution to this problem was to loss is almost unbearable. This feeling is
manipulateandparodystyles in orderto create an motivatedby Schnittke'sloss of his homelandand
ambiguity of meaning. The result was 'a hall of the Mahlerian tradition, although in the Piano
stylistic mirrors'16, 'an obscure and cryptic Quintet the feeling is compounded by the death
music'l7. His delight in musical ambiguity is of his mother, to whom the work is dedicated.
displayed by his comment on Jewish music: 'I Schnittke's use of polystylism is thus drawn
never tire of delighting in it - it can appear happy fromthe Germantraditionof Mahler,Schoenberg
while it is tragic'18. and Berg. However, his music is also distinctly
Schnittke's polystylism is related to that of Russian, for the Russian traditions allowed the
Mahler and Shostakovich. But to say it was a Mahlerianaesthetic to continue as a living force
direct extension of a traditionthey startedwould in a way that Westerntraditiondid not. It is from
be wrong. Although he sharesa common musical the divergence of these two traditions that my
inheritancewith Shostakovich,Schnittke'spoly- doubtsabout Schnittke'smusic stem. Althoughin
stylism is in many ways closer to Mahler and the West, the reaction against romanticism has
Berg. This is not really surprisingfor Schnittke long since passed, as has the modernism of the
does not consider himself to be Russian. His 1950s and 60s, certain attitudesfrom those times
mother was German, his father German-Jewish. still remain. For many, contemporary music
His parentsmoved to Russiain 1926. Schnittke's should be an abstract, objective art form.
first language is German. Although he inherited Schnittke's music has a vulgar, heart-on-the-
the Russian musical tradition, he felt his true sleeve quality about it. (Some might say it was
home to be in Germany.This led to a situationin cheap.) These qualities do not sit easily with
which he was 'writing music out of one tradition abstractionand objectivity. The irony is that if
in which he had been broughtup but to which he Schnittke had been born in Germany, he too
did not feel he belonged, while drawing would have been distanced from the aspects of
inspiration from a tradition to which he felt he Mahler's music which now form such a strong
ought to have belonged but from which he had part of his own. It is only through the Russian
been cut off by historicalevents'19.As Schnittke tradition that he has found a link to Mahlerian
says, 'I knew my home was not here (in Russia) polystylism.
and for a long time I thought it might be there (in
Germany)'20.Schnittke'sfeeling of homelessness
has a parallelquotationfrom Mahler:'I am thrice This articleis basedon a dissertationcompletedin
homeless ... as a native of Bohemia in Austria,as 1991. I would therefore like to thank my tutor
an Austrianamongst Germans,as a Jew through- Anthony Cross, and Gerard McBurney,for the
out the world'21. invaluableassistancethey gave me on the original
When Mahler borrows material, he often dissertation.

16 Gerard
McBurney, 'Schnittke and Stylistic Borrowing'.
Programmebooklet of the 1990 Huddersfield Contemporary
Music Festival.
17
Christopher Norris 'Shostakovich: politics and musical
language', in Norris (ed) Shostakovich:the man and his music
(London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1982).
18
Roseberry, ibid.
19
McBurney, ibid.
20
Quoted in McBurney, ibid.
21 Quoted in Deryck Cooke GustavMahler- an Introduction
to
his Music (London: Faber Music, 1980).

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