For almost thirty years I repeatedly saw one and the same dream: I would arrive in Vienna at long last. I would feel really happy, for I was returning to my serene childhood.

Some Schnittke scholars such as Gerard McBurney have argued that it is the late works that will ultimately be the most influential parts of Schnittke's output. 1 for violin and piano (1963; orchestrated 1968)
Dialogue for violoncello and 7 instruments (1965)
String Quartet No.

In the 1980s Schnittke's music began to become more widely known abroad with the publication of his Second (1980) and Third (1983) String Quartets and the String Trio (1985); the ballet Peer Gynt (1985–1987); the Third (1981) Fourth (1984) and Fifth (1988) Symphonies; and the Viola (1985) and 1st Cello (1985–1986) Concertos. As his health deteriorated Schnittke's music started to abandon much of the extroversion of his polystylism and retreated into a more withdrawn bleak style.