Orchestral Music

Orchestral Music

Born in 1894, Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff was a prodigy whose life was cut tragically short. He died in 1942 in the Nazi concentration camp at Wülzburg (Bavaria). The importance of his often grotesque and dance-oriented music in our time is being more and more recognized. The "ballet mystery" Ogelala, premiered in 1925, is based on the legend of a Mexican Indian chief. The sober Symphony No. 2 was written for Czech radio in 1932. The Suite is an earlier work. These three works were performed in May 1993 at the SR-Festival "Music of the Twentieth Century" in Saarbrücken. On this occasion, the Symphony No. 2 received its German premiere. The Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1937. Myung-Whun Chung, the principal conductor from 1984–90, was followed by Marcello Viotti, who is also well known particularly as an opera conductor and works with many of the major orchestras. Oliver von Dohnanyi was for seven years Director of the Bratislava Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since the opening up of the East, Dohnanyi has appeared more frequently in the West.