Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) Chamber Music • Vol. 1 String Quartets 1 - 4 Molinari Quartet Olga Ranzenhofer, first violin; Frédéric Bednarz, second violin Frédéric Lambert, viola Pierre-Alain Bouvrette, cello ACD2 2634 2 CD Set • Between 1966 and 1989, Alfred Schnittke composed four string quartets.   In 1971 he added the Canon in Memoriam Igor Stravinsky to his works for string quartet, and in 1997, Variations. • For almost half a century, Schnittke composed more than 250 works-from opera and chamber music to film music and concertos.   While drawing inspiration from the past and exploring the many aesthetic characteristics of his day, he forged a personal musical language he called polystylistic. • Internationally acclaimed by the public and the critics since its foundation in 1997, the Molinari Quartet has a mandate to perform works from the 20th and 21st centuries, to commission new works and to initiate conversations between musicians, artists and the public. • The Molinari Quartet has commissioned and premiered several works from Canadian composers such as R. Murray Schafer, Otto Joachim, Michel Gonneville, Marc Hyland, Michael Matthews, Kelly-Marie Murphy, David Scott and Ana Sokolovic, as well as giving North American premieres of many works.   The Molinari Quartet is currently in residence at the Conservatoire de musique de MontrÉal. CD 1 Quatuor n° 3 [1983]     20:01   1. Andante     5:24   2. Agitato     7:24   3. Pesante     7:13 Quatuor n° 1 [1966]     18:45   4. Sonata     8:15   5. Canon     3:59   6. Cadenza     6:31 Quatuor n° 2 [1980]     21:29   7. Moderato     2:52   8. Agitato     6:13   9. Mesto     5:38 10. Moderato     6:46 CD 2 Quatuor n° 4 [1983]     38:07   1. Lento     9:04   2. Allegro     8:30   3. Lento     6:36   4. Vivace     3:46   5. Lento     10:11 Canon in Memoriam Igor Stravinsky [1971]   6. Lento     4:58 ATMA Classique is distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading PO Box 44, Briar Hill, Vic, 3088, Australia Telephone +61 (0)3 9432 4149 ~ Facsimile +61 (0)3 9444 6879