Five Pieces for String Quartet (Schulhoff)

The "Fünf Stücke für Streichquartett" or "Five Pieces for String Quartet" is a suite of five musical pieces by Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff. The work contains stylistic connections to both a baroque dance suite and to other pieces composed by the Second Viennese School. The piece premiered on 8 August 1924 at the International Society for New Music Festival in Salzburg, and was dedicated to Darius Milhaud.^[1]

Structure

Each of the pieces evokes a different style of dance music:^[1]

• Piece 1: Viennese Waltz
• Piece 2: Serenade
• Piece 3: Czech folk music
• Piece 4: Tango
• Piece 5: Tarantella

Reception

Robin Holloway described the work as a "parody and debunking", similar to later works by Aaron Copland and Benjamin Britten.^[2]