Concerto for Piano and Strings (1979)

Schnittke's CONCERTO FOR PIANO AND STRINGS journeys through the conflict within the inner soul. The disparate elements that invade the work constantly move from the stabilizing elements of melodic passages to the destabilizing aggression of dissonance. At the height of these opposing factions comes a meditative and almost surreal cadenza. The sound of bells that follows takes us to that safety of a belief in a superior being who can end suffering and bring peace to the human soul.