Schulhoff, Erwin

Ervín (Erwin) Schulhoff (1894 - 1942) was a Czech composer and pianist of Jewish origin. He came from a German-speaking Jewish musical family. On his mother's side he was the grandson of the violin virtuoso Heinrich Wolf (1813-1898) and his great-uncle was the composer Julius Schulhoff (1825-1899). He was admitted to the Prague Conservatoire at the age of ten on the recommendation of Antonín Dvořák and became a pupil of Jindřich Kàan. He then continued his studies in Vienna, Leipzig and Cologne. Among his teachers was Max Reger. His work was based on late Impressionism and Expressionism, but his work soon acquired an experimental character. His works are distinguished by their pregnant rhythms and sonic colours. His work was also influenced by his fascination with jazz, elements of which he brought into his serious compositions.