A Schnittke Reader:

This compilation assembles previously published and unpublished essays by Schnittke and supplements them with an interview with cellist and scholar Alexander Ivashkin. The book is illustrated with musical examples, many of them in Schnittke’s own hand. In A Schnittke Reader, the composer speaks of his life, his works, other composers, performers, and a broad range of topics in 20th-century music. The volume is rounded out with reflections by some of Schnittke’s contemporaries.

Alfred Schnittke was one of the great composers of the twentieth century.

Alexander Ivashkin is Professor of Music and Director of the Centre for Russian Music at the University of London. A cellist, he often performs works by Schnittke.
Translator John Goodliffe is based in Christchurch, New Zealand.