Polystylism (Schnittke)

Alfred Schnittke - Concerto Grosso No. 1 (1990)
Movement V. Rondo. Agitato 
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Concerto Grosso No. 1

Nerd Stuff
Concerto Grosso No. 1 represents two unique styles that were introduced to classical music in the 20th century. To begin, the entire piece was written in a Polystylistic style. Polystylism is a style where the composer builds the piece on a multitude of other existing, and oftentimes conflicting, styles. At the beginning of Movement V, the movement I linked at the top of the post, Schnittke is writing in a quasi-canonic, Vivaldian character. A canon is similar to a form that we have already discussed, a fugue. An idea is passed from one instrument to another; in this case from one solo violin to another. However, the cannon Schnittke created is not perfect, meaning not every idea is copied exactly right afterward. That is why I have labeled it is a quasi-canon and not a full canon. I labeled it as Vivaldian because it strongly invokes the style Vivaldi wrote with. All of Vivaldi's 500 concertos sound like they subscribe to a particular style. Because of the iconic position of Vivaldi in the history of classical music, modern composers often write with his compositions in mind. In this case, Schnittke as formulated a twisted version of the counterpoint used by Vivaldi. The second section of the movement comes two and a half minutes in. Seemingly out of nowhere comes a tango. Following a crazy grotesque interpretation of Vivaldi, this tango is entirely shocking.
Prepared Piano
At the beginning of the whole Concerto, and about six minutes into Movement V, Schnittke writes for a prepared piano. In a piece that requests prepared piano, the performer is instructed to modify a piano in various ways. Some common ways include putting screws between strings to make a metallic clang, playing individual strings with horse hair, putting coins on or between keys, putting pieces of wood between strings, and many other ideas that create percussive sounds. This is a fun little piece written by John Cage for prepared piano is a fun little piece that uses plenty of different preparations. Schnittke asks for the piano to be prepared with coins inserted between strings and for the piano to be electrically amplified.
How I came to love this piece
This piece was introduced to me by a friend and mentor of mine, Will. Will taught the weekend composition and theory class that I was taking at the time. On a regular basis, he would introduce pieces to us that we probably had never heard before. This served us two-fold. On one side we were introduced to the technical aspects of the pieces. We gained extensive knowledge of how the piece worked and how it was compelling. On the other side, it inspired compositions of our own. To some people, including me, it is oftentimes boring to try to write in a style that has been used literally millions of times before. Finding these new and unusual pieces was a great way for me to find motivation a piece that I was writing.
Why is it compelling
To me, Schnittke is compelling because of the tension. The tension is ever present and driving. It puts the listener on the edge of their chair and keeps them there. The way Schnittke has written the piece emphasizes dissonance and leaves the reader in a semi-constant agitation. This forces the listener to find release in the few and far between consonant sections. When the dissonance finally dissipates, the listener feels like there is a conclusion to a long, unanswered, dilemma. This is what makes the piece so effective and enjoyable to me. What at first appears to be a mess of dissonant and tense notes, turns into a cohesive machine that produces closure for the listener while viewed as an entirety. That is the genius of Schnittke.