The Glass Harmonica

Schnittke wrote a strikingly experimental score for the 19-minute animated film ‘stekljannaja garmonika’ (‘The Glass Harmonica’) by Andrei Khrzhanovsky in 1966, often without a clear melody and occasionally noisy. Among the instruments used is the rarely used theremin, an instrument that reacts to the electrical resistance of the skin of the hands. The composer also uses percussion, electric organ, electric accordion and electric guitar, some of which achieve an extremely dramatic dynamic effect. Schnittke demands unusual ways of playing the traditional orchestral instruments, which is generally quite rare in his compositions. Even the tuning of the orchestral instruments is incorporated into the score as a constituent element. Of course, the instrument that gives the work its title, the distinctive ‘glass harmonica’, also finds its counterpart in the music. Schnittke depicts it primarily through celesta, harp and prepared piano. (Helmut Peters)