You really want to like this better than you probably will. The performances are excellent, and as always with BIS, they’re extremely well recorded. Conductor Lü Jia leads the Norrköping orchestra with complete confidence and a genuine feel for the music’s texture and atmosphere. Curious sound effects, like the harpsichord in Symphony No. 8, receive their due. And some of the music has its moments: the Symphonic Prelude begins promisingly, with an arresting brass fanfare, and continues with a good bit of color and contrast, not to mention an unusually clear-cut form; but it goes on way longer than its 17 minutes can justify. The two other works are typical late Schnittke: dark, creepy, and mostly miserable. In the case of For Liverpool, you kind of wonder what evil deed the composer had in mind for the place, and the Eighth Symphony limps along drearily for much of its 35 minutes. Don’t get me wrong: it all sounds like Schnittke. His individuality of style isn’t ever in doubt, and if you like him, you’ll like this–a disc for true believers.
