Schulhoff: Esquisses de jazz; Music for Piano, Op. 35; 11 Inventions; 10 Piano Pieces, Op. 30; Studies; Ostinato

A trifle disappointing. Erwin Schulhoff appears to have found his own ‘voice’ relatively late and these sets of short pieces, though ‘documenting his creative development’, seem largely derivative – imitations of jazz, shreds of Schoenberg or Scriabin. He must, however, have been a fine pianist and all credit to Vísek for his responses to the wide range of pianistic effects. Jessica Duchen

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4

Jessica Duchen

Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:34 pm

COMPOSERS: Schulhoff
LABELS: Supraphon
WORKS: Esquisses de jazz; Music for Piano, Op. 35; 11 Inventions; 10 Piano Pieces, Op. 30; Studies; Ostinato
PERFORMER: Tomás Vísek (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 11 2171-2

A trifle disappointing. Erwin Schulhoff appears to have found his own ‘voice’ relatively late and these sets of short pieces, though ‘documenting his creative development’, seem largely derivative – imitations of jazz, shreds of Schoenberg or Scriabin. He must, however, have been a fine pianist and all credit to Vísek for his responses to the wide range of pianistic effects. Jessica Duchen

Jessica Duchen

Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine

Jessica Duchen studied music at Cambridge University and was the classical music correspondent for The Independent from 2004 to 2016. She has also written for The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine and the JC, among others. Jessica Duchen has written librettos include numerous choral works and operas for the composer Roxanna Panufnik, including Silver Birch, commissioned by Garsington Opera and shortlisted for an International Opera Award in 2018. Two more works based on stories by Oscar Wilde were commissioned for Garsington’s Youth Company, The Happy Princess with composer Paul Fincham (2019) and The Selfish Giant with John Barber, which fell victim to lockdown, this has been postponed to 2021.
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