SCHULHOFF, ERWIN: Sonata
Ervin Schulhoff, a much celebrated Central European composer, came from a Prague Jewish-German family. Although Schulhoff’s parents were not musical themselves, they wholeheartedly supported and encouraged their son’s talent. He commenced his musical studies at the Prague Conservatory of Music, and continued them in Vienna, Leipzig and Cologne, where his composition teacher was Max Reger. The promising start of Schulhoff’s career as a composer and pianist was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War, a period which he spent as a soldier mostly on the eastern front. His wartime experiences completely changed his vision of the world and of art. During his stay in postwar Germany (1919-1923), Schulhoff joined the ranks of the left-wing avant-garde, while helping to shape its views as a composer. After returning to Prague, his compositional style displayed an oscillation between expressionism and neoclassicism, such as the Sonata for flute and piano written in 1927, which was dedicated to René Le Roy.