Five Pieces for String Quartet (Schulhoff) explained

The "Fünf Stücke für Streichquartett" or "Five Pieces for String Quartet" is a suite of five musical pieces by Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff. The work contains stylistic connections to both a baroque dance suite and to other pieces composed by the Second Viennese School. The piece premiered on 8 August 1924 at the International Society for New Music Festival in Salzburg, and was dedicated to Darius Milhaud.^[1]

Structure

Each of the pieces evokes a different style of dance music:^[1]

• Piece 1: Viennese Waltz
• Piece 2: Serenade
• Piece 3: Czech folk music
• Piece 4: Tango
• Piece 5: Tarantella

Reception

Robin Holloway described the work as a "parody and debunking", similar to later works by Aaron Copland and Benjamin Britten.^[2]

References

1. Program notes for the Sierra Chamber Society 2000-2001 Season, Program V, Sunday May 20, 2001. Stored on Web site: Sierra Chamber Society Program Notes. 9 March 2011. 5 August 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604190651/http://www.fuguemasters.com/schulhoff.html. 4 June 2011. dead.
2. Holloway. Robin. Revival of the fittest?. The Musical Times. November 1996. 137. 1845. 17–21. 1004305.