Scored for a very large orchestra, it is recognised as one of Schnittke's most extreme essays in aleatoric music: from the outset the piece is loud, brash and chaotic, and it imports motifs from all parts of the Western classical tradition. Schnittke includes a choreography for the musicians themselves, and in a manner similar to Haydn's Farewell Symphony, leave and re-enter the stage at points marked in the score.
| Date of composition | 1974 (Composed between 1969 and 1974) |
| Premiered | 1974, February 9th in Russia, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Nijni Novgorod |
| Type | Symphony |
| Instruments | Orchestra |
| Autotranslations beta |
Alfred Schnittke: Symphonie n°1 Al'fred Garrievič Šnitke: Sinfonia n. 1 Alfred Schnittke: Sinfonie Nr. 1 |