Composer

:

Erwin Schulhoff

Genre

:

Keyboard

Style

:

Suite

Compose Date

:

Aug 1919

Average_duration

:

13:59

Movement_count

:

5

Movement ....

Erwin Schulhoff's 'Pictoresques (5), Op. 31' is a set of five pieces for solo piano, composed in 1922. The work was premiered in Prague in the same year, with Schulhoff himself performing. The five movements of 'Pictoresques' are each inspired by a different painting or visual artwork. The first movement, 'La Fuite', is based on a painting by the French artist Jean-Francois Millet, depicting a group of peasants fleeing from a storm. The music is characterized by a sense of urgency and tension, with rapid, swirling arpeggios and sudden bursts of dissonance. The second movement, 'Le Joueur de Guitare', is inspired by a painting by the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya, depicting a man playing a guitar. The music is lively and rhythmic, with a Spanish flavor and a virtuosic guitar-like accompaniment. The third movement, 'Le Nuage en Pantalon', is based on a poem by the Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, which Schulhoff had set to music in an earlier work. The music is dreamy and impressionistic, with a sense of floating and drifting. The fourth movement, 'Le Masque', is inspired by a painting by the French artist Georges Rouault, depicting a grotesque mask. The music is dark and menacing, with jagged rhythms and harsh dissonances. The final movement, 'Le Tango', is based on the Argentine dance form. The music is sultry and seductive, with a sinuous melody and a driving rhythm. Overall, 'Pictoresques (5), Op. 31' is a highly expressive and colorful work, showcasing Schulhoff's eclectic style and his interest in incorporating elements of popular and folk music into his compositions.

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