Alfred Schnittke

Fugue

The 'Fugue for solo violin' was found in Alfred Schnittke's archive after his death. The work is not dated, but it is known that it was written in 1953. It already reveals a masterly technique, revealing not only a thorough knowledge of the instrument but also several characteristic stylistic characteristics of Schnittke.

It is interesting to observe how the composer treats the theme of the Fugue, the diatonic language of which practically explodes due to the appearance of the chromatic major seventh. The development of the theme leads into a cul-de-sac from which the composer finds a way out in the coda, after several attempts. The Fugue is 'orchestrated' in an interesting way in that its theme appears in a number of different forms, even in pizzicato, a feature that can hardly be found in any other work of this genre.

This Fugue was given its world premiere by Oleh Krysa on 23 October 1999 in New York.