Concerto for Piano Four Hands and Chamber Orchestra

Concerto for piano four hands and chamber orchestra, composed in 1988. The unusual specification — two pianists at one instrument, accompanied by chamber orchestra — creates an intimate, chamber-like texture quite different from the grand solo piano concerto. Schnittke exploits the four-hand medium for its capacity for sudden density and complex layering, while the chamber orchestra allows a transparent interplay that would be impossible with a full symphony orchestra. The work reflects his polystylistic language at its most controlled and refined.