Contrasting Periods :: Schulhoff :: July

Jul

Filed Under Music on Wednesday, July 16th 2008

While Joe Queenan rants about the uselessness of modern classical music (read about it on Felsenmusik), I quietly enjoyed a terrific chamber concert last night that featured (along with Hugo Wolf and some guy named Brahms) Schulhoff’s Concertina for flute, viola, and double bass.

The EMF musicians gave their usual terrific performances of all of the pieces, but for me it’s always and forever about the music. The Wolf Italian Serenade was a charming piece and the Brahms trio is an exquisite work, but for me, the Schulhoff simply stole the show. Yes, his life was tragically cut short by the the Holocaust, but how he remains in relative obscurity is beyond my comprehension.

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