Composer: Erwin Schulhoff
Performer: Dominic Cheli, Gallia Kastner, Adam Millstein, Cara Pogossian, Ben Solomonow, RVC Ensemble
Conductor: James Conlon
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Delos
Catalogue: DE3566
Release: 2022
Size: 1.15 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Piano Concerto with Small Orchestra, Op. 43
5 Pieces for String Quartet
02. No. 1, Alla valse viennese
03. No. 2, Alla serenata
04. No. 3, Alla czeca
05. No. 4, Alla tango milonga
06. No. 5, Alla tarantella
Piano Suite for Left Hand
07. I. Preludio
08. II. Air
09. III. Zingara
10. IV. Improvisazione
11. V. Finale
Violin Sonata No. 2
12. I. Allegro impetuoso
13. II. Andante
14. III. Burlesca. Allegretto
15. IV. Allegro risoluto
16. Susi
The powerful and amazingly varied music of Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff, whose art was suppressed by the Nazi regime and who died in captivity in 1942, is given stirring performances by brilliant young players from the Colburn School, Los Angeles’ elite conservatory. James Conlon, world-renowned conductor and LA Opera music director, leads the RVC Ensemble in Schulhoff’s Piano Concerto, Op. 43, with Dominic Cheli as soloist. Four other pieces – all strong and unique – complete the album’s offerings, which span the years between 1923 and 1937.
While Schulhoff’s music has been gradually emerging from near-total obscurity in recent years, “Shapeshifter” is especially notable as the first album-length example of his works being taken up by American musicians of classical’s ascendant “next generation”.
The project is intimately connected to the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices, which encourages greater awareness and more frequent performances of music by composers whose careers and lives were disrupted or ended during the years of the Nazi regime in Europe. The Recovered Voices initiative was established at the Colburn School in 2013.