Entartete Musik: The Chamber Works of Erwin Schulhoff

Eric Scott

doi:https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-w1qw-7p96

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Entartete Musik: The Chamber Works of Erwin Schulhoff

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In an assault on artistic freedom, the Nazi Government attempted to isolate, discredit, and ban musical works of Jewish composers by labeling them “Entartete Musik,” or “Forbidden Music.” After the Nazis seized power in 1933, the government disparaged and condemned works of Felix Mendelssohn and Gustav Mahler along with works by living composers such as Arnold Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, and Kurt Weill. As the world moved on after World War II, the voices silenced by the Nazi purge received little performance or scholarship, including Erwin Schulhoff. Despite not having the notoriety of other composers in the early twentieth century, Erwin Schulhoff’s music is worthy of study because his blend of traditional training with influences of American jazz, political satire, and popular dance music. Schulhoff’s innovative and diverse musical output was shaped by prominent musical figures, including Antonín Dvořák, Max Reger, and Claude Debussy. A greater understanding of Schulhoff’s music is only possible after an examination of the time in which it was written. Therefore, the first of objective for this document is to provide an overview of Schulhoff’s life during the tumultuous political climate in the Weimar Republic. This document will also identify three artistic trends seen in Schulhoff’s works that were prevalent in the Weimar Republic: Dadaism, Jazz, and New Objectivity. His compositional technique will also be examined using specific examples from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Hot-Sonate, and Konzert für Streichquartette und Blaser-Ensemble. The final objective of the paper is to serve as a catalyst for scholarship of Schulhoff’s music and others from this period. The author hopes this document will be an impetus for musicians to consider studying and performing works by oppressed figures from this dark time in world history.

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