Julius SCHULHOFF (1825-1898)
Piano Works
Sonata in F Minor, Op.37 [17:19]
Caprice sur des Airs Bohémiens, Op.10 [8:46]
Etude in A Minor, Op.13, No.1 [1:01]: No.3 [1:17]: No.8 [1:02]:
No.9 [1:48]: No.10 [2:17]: No.12 [1:55]
Impromptu-Polka, Op.33 [3:09]
Chant Du Berger, Op.23, No.1 [3:35]
Galop di Bravura, Op.17 [3:35]
Polonaise in E-flat Major, Op.44 [5:36]
Romance in D-flat Major, Op.49 [3:43]
Mazurka in A-flat Major, Op.9, No.1 [4:27]
Cantabile in G-flat Major, Op.26 [4:19]
Elegie in E-flat Minor, Op.2 No.3 [3:24]
Romanza in A-flat Major, Op.2, No.1 [4:21]
Berceuse in D-flat Major, Op.53 [1:45]
Adrian Ruiz (piano)
rec. c. 1982
GENESIS GCD119 [73:19]
Julius Schulhoff was born in Prague in 1825, studying there
and later in Paris where his playing was admired by Chopin,
who called him a ‘true artist’. European tours followed,
and in 1870 he moved to Dresden, and later to Berlin where he
died in 1898. He was the great uncle of Ervin Schulhoff, who
today is by far the better known composer.
Yet in his day Julius was widely admired. This disc, originally
recorded on LP back in around 1982 - the notes are none too
helpful here just giving copyright dates - gives us an opportunity
to hear what attracted listeners, fellow composers, performers
and publishing houses alike.
It’s a bold move to start with the Op.37 Piano Sonata
which, like everything, is undated in the notes. Bold because
it’s one of Schulhoff’s very few large-scale works
and because whilst in many ways attractive shows him in uneven
light. It was dedicated to Liszt, though it remains largely
indebted to Chopin in its scampering passagework and ethos.
Adeptly structured, it rather lacks personalised distinction
for much of the time, its very best moments coming in the restless
aria of a slow movement. Here his promotion of melody over supporting
harmonies, a quality that so impressed Theodor Leschetitzky,
is at its most marked.
Most of the rest of the programme offers musical souvenirs,
dance motifs and romantic elegance. All offer persuasive evidence
of Schulhoff’s very real command of the contemporary vernacular.
He infiltrates some native Czech songs into Caprice sur des
Airs Bohémiens, which is full of roulades and witty
badinage, very much of its time in its potpourri nature; there’s
even a passage that sounds like a protoCountry Gardens.
His Etudes Op.13 range from virtuosic to charming, though he
doesn’t neglect some pungent left hand accents in the
Eighth of the set (only six of the complete set are performed).
Schumannesque arpeggios ripple away in the Ninth, whilst the
Cantabile in G-flat Major also indicates the same influence.
The Impromptu-Polka, Op.33 is a rather military opus,
a confident Dual Monarchy pleaser, whereas Chant du Berger
also shows real appreciation of an animating Schubertian left
hand.
That Schulhoff could be droll as well as quickfire is clear
from Galop di Bravura and his Chopinesque lineage is
also evident, if at too great a length, in the shape of the
Polonaise in E-flat Major. It would be remiss not to
note another influence, that of Mendelssohn, in the Romanza
in A-flat Major.
The composers cited give an indication of the musical stream
in which Schulhoff swam. He was certainly indebted to them but
not necessarily derivative of them. When the performances are
as approachable, technically powerful and expressively attractive
as these by Adrian Ruiz, and so attractively recorded too, then
the curious listener will be well rewarded.
Jonathan Woolf
Approachable, technically powerful and expressive performances
attractively recorded. Curious listeners will be well rewarded.