Jazz Inspired
Sciortino

Orazio Sciortino, piano

E. Schulhoff (1894-1942)

Hot-Music, 10 syncopated studies

5 Jazz Études: Charleston, Blues, Chanson, Tango, Toccata on the shimmy “Kitten on the Keys” by Zez Confrey

35’ | Admission €8

In this pianistic journey, Erwin Schulhoff is not attempting to “imitate” jazz, but rather extracts its pure rhythmic essence and subjects it to a virtuosic concert treatment that challenges the boundaries of tradition.

In Hot-Music: 10 Syncopated Studies, this exploration becomes extreme: Schulhoff investigates syncopation in all its forms, using anticipations, delays, and displaced accents to create a constant sense of instability. The resulting harmonies, harsh and often dissonant, reflect the provocative spirit of the era, while the pedal, used very sparingly to preserve a dry and rhythmic sound, ends up highlighting an almost “mechanical” character of the instrument. The experimentation continues in the 5 Jazz Études, where Schulhoff pays tribute to the dances that in the 1920s revolutionised European salons through studies of high technical difficulty. The cycle opens with the Charleston, an explosion of frenetic energy in which the piano imitates the pulse of big bands through large leaps across the keyboard, then flows into the Blues, where time expands and the focus shifts to the use of blue notes, creating a smoky atmosphere charged with urban sensuality. Amid the frenetic notes, a lyrical and more abstract moment appears with the Chanson, which serves as a necessary poetic breath. The melody becomes fragmented and almost dreamlike, and jazz turns into a new form of nocturnal intimacy.

With the “acid” harmonies that break into the linearity of the Tango, we arrive at the Toccata on the shimmy “Kitten on the Keys”, based on the famous piece by Zez Confrey. In this wild virtuosic race, the mechanics of the piano are pushed to their extreme limits in order to reproduce the Stride style: the left hand is forced into large and rapid leaps between bass notes and chords at overwhelming speed.

Text curated by Martina Sangermano