Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) Fünf Pittoresken, Op. 31 (1919) with score 0:00 - I. Foxtrott 3:15 - II. Ragtime 8:08 - III. In Futurum 9:47 - IV. One-Step 13:02 - V. Maxixe Performed by Margarete Babinsky
Great Music in this vídeo. Even the third mouvement (silence is music too). Everybody only talks about the quiet third mouvement in commentaries. This is how the world is.
No somos pocos en reconocer el talento de Schulhoff, razón de más para insistir en su genialidad híbrida y esperar que un día podamos rendirle el homenaje que se merece en el paraje donde está enterrado -que al parecer tiene cierto encanto, pese al lastre patético de haber sido lugar de confinamiento. Esta es otra pieza que lo muestra. Si el comienzo es un foxtrot desenfadado (le encantaba bailar los ritmos a la moda con amigas, camareras o…), le sigue un ragtime y como tercer movimiento un gran silencio anotado como tal “In futurum” (1:39m), para terminar con esa larga danza de la machicha o maxixe. Vale la pena escucharlo y medir la pauta del silencio como un signo, amén de atrevido, premonitorio. Tras el silencio, la liberación gozosa. ¡Gracias Georges, te debo otra! Una de tantas. [1]La machicha -maxixe, matchiche o mattchiche”-, nace en Rio de Janeiro hacia el año 1868, al mismo tiempo que se desarrolla el tango en Argentina y Uruguay. Danza afrobrasileña derivada de la batuca, toma el nombre de una ciudad del sur de Mozambique, de donde provenían muchos de los esclavos que la bailaban. Contó con compositores como Ernesto Nazareth, Pixinguinha o Pattapio Silva, mas la mayor compositora de maxixes fue Chiquinha Gozaga. En Francia fue célebre gracias a la canción La Matchiche que cantara Félix Mayol hacia 1905. Queneau la inmortaliza en una versión de la fábula de La Fontaine, La fourmi et la cigale : « (...) eh dit-elle point n'est la saison/ des sports alpinistes/ (vous ne vous êtes pas fait mal j'espère ?)/ et maintenant dansons dansons/ une bourrée ou la matchiche ».
Executed without rhythm, without that strong and corrosive sound that is required by this type of Music, that was similar to real jazz but had a sad ironic character, that was its most important aspect.
Softer, singing sound and flexible meter are perfectly normal for the pianistic tradition that Schulhoff grew up with, and I think it makes perfect sense to play these pieces not with what we now perceive as necessary for performing jazz, but with a mixture of stylistic elements. I think it's done very tastefully and sensibly here.
He was from a German-Jewish family living in Czechoslovakia, so for that reason, his works were not only oppressed (actually, blacklisted) by the Nazi regime, but also because of his growing Communist sympathies. He tried to move to the Soviet Union, but he was arrested and sent to the Wülzburg concentration camp before he could, and he died there in 1942. Very sad :(
Such excellent playing, BUT in #5 why does she ruin every syncopation by slowing down? If Schulhoff bothered to write a syncopation, why not play it? By slowing down it destroys the whole feeling of a syncopation. Can't understand it, especially when so much of the other playing is so superb.
Someone asks, "why isn't Schulhoff better known?" Could be because his music (as heard here) is superficial? Interesting to hear, though. Thanks for posting.
I wouldn't call it superficial, I can see why you wouldn’t enjoy it because it's not truly authentic jazz writing... He has other pieces with great depth to it. I think the main reason he is relatively anonymous is because his was ended early and he was killed by the Nazi's in one of the concentration camps.
I'd argue against this being considered too superficial, but I'd agree that this is absolutely not his best work. His string quartets are much more interesting, as nice as these are
can anyone explain to me why there are literal smiley faces and frowny faces in the score??? also does the thing that looks like a fermata attached to an inverted fermata mean anything? if so, what does it mean?
I think it is meant to parodize western formal classical traditions. One can read the score and even recognize a certain structural familiarity to the whole, even though one only hears silence. In that sense, this is kind of an intellectual joke, or "music about music".
@@Mesomede I'm pretty sure the entire piece is meant as a dadaist parody of, or commentary on 'casual' popular music and formal traditions in classical western music. Therefore I think it's safe to assume that the titles were mixed up purposefully.
Great music that I passionately love, only I don't like the interpetaion by this pianist - unappropriate freedom of syncopation and rubati where they arenot notated, sounds somewhat childish... I prefer Sherri Jones from the wergo CD.
Someone asks, "why isn't Schulhoff better known?" Could be because his music (as heard here) is superficial? Interesting to hear, though. Thanks for posting.
