Suite in the Old Style

‘Schnittke's ‘Suite in the Old Style’ was composed in 1972 and premiered in its original form in March 1973 by Lyubov Jedlina (piano) and Mark Lubotsky (violin) in Moscow. The five-movement work, an homage to the suite form of the 18th century, is one of the composer's most frequently performed pieces and has already been arranged several times.
The suite, with which Schnittke fulfils his wish to ‘write quite naively for once’, begins with a very songful pastorale in a swaying 6/8 time signature, held in soft tones throughout and enlivened by distinctive modulations. Small dissonant frictions, floating organ dots and the sensitive trill episode of the morendo finale form charming details. The ballet that follows without a break is a cheerful dance in the spirit of the old Italian ‘Ballo’ (straight bars and a clear periodic structure). Schnittke allows something of his own to shine through here in minimal alienations (he included this bold and contrast-rich cabinet piece in the polystylistic whirl of his 1st Symphony in an orchestrated guise). An unconventional minuet (in free form with interesting tonal shifts) is followed by a lively fugue which, with its striking theme, resembles a subtle mental exercise. The movement of the fugue leads directly into a pantomime, a quiet andantino piece that forms the colourful background for something very personally comedic and which, after a fortissimo outburst towards the end, fades away with the same quivering, questioning secondary trill as in the introductory Pastorale. We experience the encounter with a ‘masked’ Schnittke, who thus probably also awakens and increases curiosity about the works in his ‘own’ language.’ (Jürgen Köchel)