Erwin Schulhoff (Prague 1894-Wrzburg 1942, a renowned pianist/composer during his lifetime, long forgotten in the years after his death, is beginning to win back the place he deserves on the international musical scene. His rediscovery is worthwhile in every sense. Schulhoff was a greatly talented and versatile musician and his music holds a fascinating mirror up to the time in which he lived; but no matter how much his music was a product of the times, his works rarely sound dated. He began as a follower of his idols, Grieg, Reger (with whom he studied in Leipzig), Strauss, and Debussy. He won the Mendelssohn prize twice, amply fulfilling the promise seen in the seven year old by Antonin Dvorak. But the real Erwin Schulhoff did not make an appearance until after the first World War, after time spent in Italian and Russian trenches. These horrifying experiences made his work less romantic, giving it a rawer, scornful quality ("inspired by the rubble and garbage of Europe", to quote one of his diaries). Born in Prague, he settled in Germany, the cultural center of the western world, and explored and absorbed all the new developments in the arts which he encountered: expressionism, dadaism, atonality, quarter tone music ( which he only performed, but did not compose), surrendering to the newest American rage: jazz. He triumphed as pianist and composer throughout Europe. The rise of fascism around 1930 resulted in another radical change in his life. It meant a virtual end to his career, and he joined forces with the communists. He made his compositions into political manifestos (fiery protest songs, orchestral works dedicated to Spanish freedom fighters or the Soviet army, a cantata on the manifesto of Marx and Engels). In 1941, shortly before his projected emigration to Russia, he was arrested by the Nazis and deported to an internment camp in Bavaria, where he died in 1942.
The pieces on this cd date from the 1919-1936 period, and illustrate various aspects of Schulhoff's composing abilities. Wolkenpumpe, Bassnachtigall, Symphonia Germanica, and Sonate Erotica all belong to his dadaistic works, rarely or never performed during his lifetime. It was the Ebony Band which gave these works their first performances (except for the Bassnachtigall) in the early 1990s. Little is known about the Symphonia Germanica ("for the use of all the limbs of the body and the refreshment of Dresden musical life! And for the joy of like-minded reviewers") and the Sonata Erotica ("for Gentlemen only"). Schulhoff only mentions the titles once in a sketch, but for a long time theywere missing from the list of his works and the manuscripts could not be found. These crudely provocative dadaistic works were undoubtedly produced amidst the lively circle of friends around Schulhoff's sister Viola (in whose elegant rented home in Dresden Erwin found lodging in 1919). Among Viola Schulhoff's friends was the painter Otto Griebel (1895-1972), in collaboration with whom Erwin produced a most unusual work: ten little piano pieces with ten accompanying lithographs (see the cd cover...). These were published in Dresden in 1920 in a limited edition, with the title Ten Themes (republished by the Ebony Band in May 1996). The Wolkenpumpe (on texts from the collection of the same name by Hans Arp (1887-1966) and Die Bassnachtigall both date from 1922 and are both provided with texts written by Schulhoff himself. In the prologue to the Wolkenpumpe, the names of various well-known dadaists as well as his own name are interwoven; in the Bassnachtigall text, the audience is roughly taken in hand. In the Hot-Sonate, Schulhoff shows his strong 'feeling" for jazz and his masterly ability to integrate the spirit of this music with classical concert music. This piece was first performed during the Berliner Funkstunde in April 1930, and the saxophonist was the famous Billy Barton of the London Savoy Orleans Band, a professional jazz musician. "Only musicians like this can play my Sonate", Schulhoff declared in the music periodical Melos. A very different aspect of Schulhoff's artistry can be heard in the vocalworks Chant d'Amour, Zebrak (The beggar), and Ukolebavka (Lullaby). They are lyrical, moving miniatures, composed for various different occasions. Chant d'Amour (Dnem noci souzim se) was part of the music which Schulhoff wrote in 1926 for the play "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme", and also appeared as a piece for piano solo in this collection of incidental music (CCS 6994). The other two songs date from 10 years later, when Schulhoff had moved to Ostrava and (to earn money) wrote music for the radio series "Die klare und dunkle Stadt". The light pieces Kassandra, Orinoco, Syncopated Peter, Susi , and Dneska kazda modne zena (every fashionable woman today) were produced between 1931 and 1935 in Prague. He had already written in this vein under pseudonyms (including John Longfield, Joe Fuller, George Hanell), probably because at this time the serious composer Erwin Schulhoff had acquired a different conception of the role of the composer in society; he distanced himself spiritually from frivolous, "meaningless" jazz and popular music. Nonetheless, whether as a way of earning money or for other reasons, Schuhoff's master hand remains unmistakable. Werner Herbers Translation: David Shapero