Erwin Schulhoff was arrested by the Nazis, imprisoned in Prague, and later died in the Bavarian concentration camp in Wülzburg.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Erwin Schulhoff had a 'tremendous passion for fashionable dances' and found creative impulse in the 'rhythmic enthusiasm and subconscious sensuality' of dancing.
Composer Biography
Erwin Schulhoff, a composer and pianist of German Jewish parentage, survived WWI but later joined the communist party and took Soviet citizenship in protest of the 1938 Munich agreement.
Historical Context
This album features three string quartets by composers whose careers were fractured or terminated by war, and who denounced military conflicts.
Performer Biography
The Artis-Quartett Wien, founded in 1980, performs an annual concert cycle at the Wiener Musikverein since 1988 and has won numerous awards for their more than 35 CDs.
Composer Biography
Fritz Kreisler, a celebrated Vienna-born American violinist, joined the Austrian army in WWI but was medically discharged after suffering an injury.
Composer Biography
Alexander Zemlinsky, a composer, pianist, and conductor, was forced to leave Germany due to the rise of Nazism and later fled to New York.
