Search - Berthold Goldschmidt, Erwin Schulhoff, Michail Jurowski :: Berthold Goldschmidt: Overture "The Comedy of Errors"; Greek Suite; Erwin Schulhoff: Ogelala

In the wake of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, many composers tried their hand at musical "primitivism," including Bartók (The Miraculous Madarin), Prokofiev (Scythian Suite), and Varèse (Amériques). Erwin Schulhoff's effort in this direction is a ballet based on a Mayan myth. It's written for chamber orchestra and lots of percussion (at minimum nine players); check out the "weapon dance" if you want a truly amazing few minutes of primal banging and crashing. Berthold Goldschmidt's pieces make appropriate couplings--like Schulhoff, his works were banned by the Nazis, only he made it out of occupied Europe in time. Schulhoff didn't. --David Hurwitz