Ebony Band Amsterdam & Werner Herbers - Schulhoff: Ensemble Works Vol 1 (1994)

Although Erwin Schulhoff (8 July 1894, Prague-18 August 1942, Wlzbourg internment camp, in Bavaria) did not settle permanently in the city of his birth until the end of 1932 (he had studied and worked primarily in Germany up to that time), he soon made his name as a composer among both the German speaking inhabitants of Prague and in native Czech musical circles. One additional proof of this is the commission which Schulhoff received from the Czech National Theatre in the spring of 1926 to compose the stage music for Molire’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. The play was given an extremely modern treatment by the director, and he chose his co-workers accordingly. He considered Schulhoff the most suitable man for the job, because the composer showed a sense of humor and a feeling for the ridiculous in his work, he was fond of jazz, expressed himself succinctly and pithily, and was responsive and inventive. Schulhoff’s participation in the Dada movement also played a role in the choice: at the time, Dadaist art was still the most current style among theatrical artists in Prague….