Schulhoff: Five Pieces for String Quartet

Amsterdam Sinfonietta has combined a romantic masterpiece of the string orchestra repertoire with two wild compositions from the inter-war period. Dvorák, Haas, and Schulhoff hardly make a conventional mixture, but all three of these composers had their roots in a region which was known for many centuries as “Bohemia.” One can hear this common ground in the rhythmic diversity, the influence of folk music, and the melodic inventiveness that characterizes their music.

Amsterdam Sinfonietta occupies a unique position on the Dutch music scene as professional string orchestra. It is regularly invited to perform in concert halls throughout the world as one of the very few large-scale string ensembles on the international scene. What sets Amsterdam Sinfonietta apart from the ‘regular’ chamber orchestras is the top priority it gives to a ‘chamber music mentality’. Every one of its musicians assumes the responsibilities of a solo player. This approach gives a high level of involvement on the part of the musicians when they perform as an ensemble, resulting in performances of rare dynamism and intensity that involve the listener in a vibrant live music experience. Usually the ensemble plays without conductor under the direction of Candida Thompson, concertmaster since 1995, who was appointed artistic director in 2003.

The Amsterdam Sinfonietta’s Walton/Beethoven disc CCSSA23005 was a Gramophone Editor’s Choice in 2005.

After World War I Schoenberg was prominently placed, together with Stravinsky, Bartok and Hindemith. Krenek and Weill were beckoning, whilst Les Six suffered for their irony in Paris. Quite different was the perspective for composer Erwin Schulhoff returning home from the war. At 24 years of age, he had been wounded twice on the front and experienced human suffering, destruction and the loss of own ideals. Schulhoff had to scratch a living doing musical odd jobs but became friends with George Grosz, Otto Dix along with the Berlin Dada movement, whilst programming the Second Viennese school in his Dresden concerts. In the Nazi era he was denied employment and politically he leaned to the left, even setting passages from the Communist Manifesto, later obtaining Soviet citizenship. However, he was arrested in Prague the day after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. In 1944, he died in the Wülzburg concentration camp in Germany and it was to take more than 40 years for his work to become known and more popular, enhanced by the efforts of Michael Haas and Decca's Entartete music series.

The Vogler Quartet celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2010/11. Here they offer Schulhoff's chamber music from the mid 1920s.

The renowned Schoenberg Quartet was founded in 1976 and gave their final concert on 16th May 2009. To mark their last performances, Etcetera have released two boxed sets. This one features a wide range of repertoire taken from both exceptional re-releases and new recordings from their 33rd season.