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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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Composer of the Week

Music: Classical

Composer of the Week - Brand

An informative guide to composers' lives and their music.

An informative and accessible guide to composers' lives and their music.

Composer of the Week: Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

Composer of the Week: Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998): Episode 3

Episode 3

Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

BBC Radio 3 - Composer of the Week, Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998), Episode 3

Donald Macleod explores three key Schnittke works from the mid-1970s.

Donald Macleod is joined by Alexander Ivashkin to explore three key Schnittke works from the mid-1970s: Four Hymns and the First Concerto grosso.

Donald Macleod presents a celebration of the music of the USSR's last great composer, Alfred Schnittke. 

In 1975, Shostakovich, the titanic figure of Soviet music, died. Schnittke inherited the mantle of the USSR's premier composer - one whose music encapsulated the absurdity, the banality and the struggle of life under the Soviet dictatorship.

Donald is joined again Russian music expert Alexander Ivashkin to explore three key works from the mid-1970s: his tragic Piano Quintet, written after the death of his mother; the plangent Four Hymns for instrumental ensemble; and the First Concerto grosso, described by the composer as featuring 'a joyful children's chorus, a nostalgic atonal serenade, a piece of 100 per cent guaranteed Corelli - made in the USSR - and finally my grandmother's favourite tango played by my great-grandmother on a harpsichord'.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Donald Macleod celebrates the work of Alfred Schnittke, the USSR's last great composer

Donald Macleod and Russian music expert Alexander Ivashkin explore the work of Alfred Schnittke, the USSR's last great composer. He was an enigmatic man and had a very individual musical style

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Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998)

Episode 3

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