Sonata No. 1 for Violin (1968)

Schnittke’s Sonata No. 1 of 1963 calls for novel colors and methods of attack, with ironclad execution. There is plenty of pure pounding for the pianist, and chances for the fiddle to shriek like a banshee [in] this tuneful-yet 12-tone sonata. The music must have sounded very modern in 1963, rocketing dizzyingly between a mock-religioso mood to a Prokofiev-like toccata to a jazz/pop segment. Mourja and Rozanova simply throw themselves bodily at this music and dive into this challenge with infectious enthusiasm and good, youthful fun. Good sound.