Schulhoff Ogelala etc.
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Ervín Schulhoff
Label: Schwann
Magazine Review Date: 5/1997
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 67
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 31129-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Ogelala |
Ervín Schulhoff, Composer
Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra Ervín Schulhoff, Composer Israel Yinon, Conductor |
| Serenade for Orchestra |
Ervín Schulhoff, Composer
Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra Ervín Schulhoff, Composer Israel Yinon, Conductor |
Author:
The Schulhoff boom continues with this curate’s egg of a programme – a third recording of music from the ballet, Ogelala and a first outing for the delightful early Serenade. Coming from Schulhoff’s second (maximally trendy) period of cosmopolitan excess, the ballet is not great, or even very good music. It suggests that the composer knew his L’histoire du soldat and his Rite of Spring and might be said to suggest certain parallels with Varese or even the so-called minimalists of our own day. Unfortunately, it consists almost entirely of accompanimental figuration which stands up to repeated listening not at all – a 40-minute, percussion-dominated vamp-till-ready. MEO was generous in summing it up as “a mildly interesting period piece”. It strikes me as a complete waste of time. The present performance is first-rate, however, and the disc is well worth acquiring for the coupling.
The Serenade is a composition from Schulhoff’s first phase in which he juggles classic examples of the genre with a grace and elegance not often found in his later output. Even here it is difficult to know how we are supposed to receive the welter of cadential non sequiturs. Modulations are sometimes overtly ironic a la Prokofiev, at other times merely inept-sounding. The music makes constant reference to the work of others but is more than pastiche. The first movement is delicate and breezy with a final nod towards Eine kleine Nachtmusik, the “Cavatina” a schmaltzy German or Bohemian species of lullaby. The “Intermezzo” is outrageous in its borrowing from Mahler, the fourth movement seemingly an attempt to go deeper with its strange, densely woven meanderings for strings alone. The notes suggest some kinship with Strauss’s Metamorphosen but, not for the first time with this composer in this vein, I was reminded of Delius or Warlock. The rumbustious finale pulls together another parade of jolly archetypes. It seems less effective than the rest, but that may be the effect of a slightly over-resonant acoustic.
All in all, the Serenade represents a very real achievement for a composer barely out of his teens, although its meaning must remain mysterious. The reading would appear to be exceptionally well prepared and is ripely recorded. Koch’s documentation (though wearyingly enthusiastic) is copious. My advice? Forget the wretched native American chief Ogelala, go straight to track 14, and enjoy.'
The Serenade is a composition from Schulhoff’s first phase in which he juggles classic examples of the genre with a grace and elegance not often found in his later output. Even here it is difficult to know how we are supposed to receive the welter of cadential non sequiturs. Modulations are sometimes overtly ironic a la Prokofiev, at other times merely inept-sounding. The music makes constant reference to the work of others but is more than pastiche. The first movement is delicate and breezy with a final nod towards Eine kleine Nachtmusik, the “Cavatina” a schmaltzy German or Bohemian species of lullaby. The “Intermezzo” is outrageous in its borrowing from Mahler, the fourth movement seemingly an attempt to go deeper with its strange, densely woven meanderings for strings alone. The notes suggest some kinship with Strauss’s Metamorphosen but, not for the first time with this composer in this vein, I was reminded of Delius or Warlock. The rumbustious finale pulls together another parade of jolly archetypes. It seems less effective than the rest, but that may be the effect of a slightly over-resonant acoustic.
All in all, the Serenade represents a very real achievement for a composer barely out of his teens, although its meaning must remain mysterious. The reading would appear to be exceptionally well prepared and is ripely recorded. Koch’s documentation (though wearyingly enthusiastic) is copious. My advice? Forget the wretched native American chief Ogelala, go straight to track 14, and enjoy.'
Schulhoff Ogelala etc.
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