at the age of about 30, he developed his personal post-serial style based on combination of quasi-serial procedures and special attention to attractiveness of sound material and to melody as a source of expression. another fundamental feature of his music is its rhythmic, structural and formal flexibility, which provokes feeling of "self-development" of initial micro-thematic patterns. the idea of modern spirituality became an impulse for many his vocal and instrumental compositions. this is particularly significant in his 3 operas and several choral compositions written recently. moscow critic alexey parin referred to shchetynsky as "a consequent stickler for avant-garde" and stated that "his spirituality reveals in strict, ascetically beautiful sounds that impress with their hermetism, within the context of up-to-date musical language". nevertheless, in his newest compositions he moves towards postmodernistic aesthetics utilizing stylistic elements of various epochs. however, he stays apart from eclecticism and aims at finding a new unity in combination of those musical elements that historically never existed next to each other.