Schnittke, Alfred.

the composing short-score for the complete work, notated in pencil and black ink on systems of varying length (mostly two-stave), with autograph heading ("Für Liverpool / For Liverpool") and autograph dedication to the composer's friend and editor Jürgen Köchel, together with other autograph inscriptions including indication of work-duration ("[ca. 20']") and key to some music passages ("A - Choräle / B - Beatle's Anklänge"), with detailed indications of scoring marked by the composer on the music and with lists of instruments for the individual sections written in the left-hand margins, the bars on each system numbered separately by the composer, the number in centimetres indicating bar widths in the fair-copy autograph, the score dated by Schnittke at the end ("03.04.94") and containing some erasures, cancellations and revisions, 3 pages, large folio (c.42 x 30cm), 32-stave ("Star Nr.37") paper, no place [Hamburg], 3 April 1994; together with two copies of the first edition of the score, published by Musikverlag Hans Sikorski, Hamburg (1995)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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This is an impressive composing manuscript of a work written in 1994 for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and with whom it was first performed the following year under the baton of Libor Pesek. The work provides a good example of Schnittke's famed polystylistic technique, his highly individual manner of fusing diverse stylistic elements - in this case chorales, Beatles-inspired material and, near the end, a Shostakovich-leaning waltz - into an eclectic whole, underpinned by a novel approach to scoring - here making use of the electric guitar and the electric bass (these being part of Schnittke's typically large instrumentarium).

As with other Schnittke manuscripts the present score reveals the very particular composing procedure of the composer: the musical substance is first written down in short-score form with detailed indications of scoring - the work being later realized completely in a full score. An unusual feature of the manuscript are the figures added above each bar indicating the widths of the bars in the full score, the preparation of which was carried out by Schnittke's wife or son.