The Schnittke Family

Father — Harry Viktorovich Schnittke, born in 1914, mother — Maria Iosifovna Fogel, born in 1910.

His father left Moscow for the town of Engels at the age of sixteen, not finishing the tenth grade of school. He decided to go to the Volga German Republic and work for a German newspaper. After the war, he graduated from school and studied at the Institute of Foreign (International) Languages. He became a translator.

In Engels Harry Schnittke established himself as a professional journalist. The Volga period of life, though short, left a trace in his heart.

Mother studied at the Pedagogical Institute in Engels, Faculty of History, but because of the war, she could not graduate. She taught German at school during and after the war. In Moscow she worked for a newspaper published in German, in the mailroom.

The great musician’s younger brother, Victor Schnittke (1937-1994, was born in Engels. He went to the same railway school No. 25 as Alfred until 1946. Then, the family settled in Moscow, and Victor graduated from the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages, worked for “The New Times” magazine, he became the editor of the “Progress” publishing house English edition of in 1970. Victor Schnittke was a talented translator, journalist, he wrote poetry and prose. His first works were published in 1972. “Voices of Silence” — Victor Schnittke’s first book, was published in 1992, “Poems”- in 1996, then “The Well on Stepnaya Street” (1998) — a collection of prose. The poet’s fans can listen to Alfred Schnittke’s music cycle, inspired by his brother’s poems: “Untitled, ” “The Violinist, ” “Your Silence”. The work is called “Three Poems by Victor Schnittke.”

Alfred’s sister Irina was born in 1940. She graduated from the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages, worked at school for many years, teaching German.