(Mind you, as an aside, this is his Erotic Sonata, which “calls for a female singer to moan orgasmically”, and is also from 1919 – three years before Molly Bloom said “yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.”)
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Unfortunately, Schulhoff was a Czech Jew, and – what with that, and being artistic, non-conformist, and politically radical – he didn’t survive the *next* world war. He tried to get to Russia (which wasn’t exactly safe for Jews either), but was caught and died (of TB) in prison in 1942
aug 29, 2025, 9:22 am • 12 0 • view
This is the full New Yorker piece. There isn’t a huge amount out there about Schulhoff, who was rather forgotten about after his early death, but this piece (from 2004) marked a weekend dedicated to his work, so he is starting to be heard more again
aug 29, 2025, 9:23 am • 6 0 • view
And, strangely, even Schulhoff had a forerunner – although this wasn’t performed. Marche funèbre composée pour les funérailles d’un grand homme sourd (Funeral March for the Obsequies of a Deaf Man) was ‘composed’ by French writer Alphonse Allais as a joke in 1897
aug 29, 2025, 9:25 am • 8 0 • view
What a thread!
aug 29, 2025, 9:29 am • 1 0 • view
Thank you!
aug 29, 2025, 9:31 am • 1 0 • view
Now this is an interesting footnote, because it reminds me of another work of Allais’...
aug 29, 2025, 9:40 am • 9 0 • view
He also produced a book, Album primo-avrilesque (roughly: April Fool-ish album), which consisted entirely of works like these
![Première communion de jeunes filles chlorotiques par un temps de neige [First communion of anaemic young girls in snowy weather] – it’s an entirely white picture](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vckf3haopb3yncclmf7o2m3f/bafkreigzapzulh2kvcud4jbnxwxryfbrhzhkh7msdptili3vyeenwb7tjm@jpeg)
![Récolte de la tomate par des cardinaux apoplectiques au bord de la mer Rouge (Effet d'aurore boréale) [Apoplectic cardinals harvesting tomatoes on the shore of the Red Sea (effect of the Aurora Borealis)] – this one is completely red](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vckf3haopb3yncclmf7o2m3f/bafkreica3hkeaplgdrnixg3zq72lvzzrsmiyagpgczp3ksaa225cgwxqvq@jpeg)
aug 29, 2025, 9:43 am • 11 0 • view
Another footnote:
aug 29, 2025, 10:09 am • 4 0 • view
And another!
aug 29, 2025, 11:14 am • 54 18 • view
Ooh, an intriguing, creativity-encouraging footnote...
aug 29, 2025, 1:59 pm • 7 0 • view
Excellent. I love the one above it, too
aug 29, 2025, 11:45 am • 2 0 • view
I like the patriot/possum one, too!
aug 29, 2025, 11:57 am • 2 0 • view