TEMPO OF RECOLLECTION - Hosfeld Artist Management

TEMPO OF RECOLLECTION 

Written and Directed by 

Nick Schwartz-Hall 

Featuring the Saint Helens String Quartet 

photo credit: Michelle Smith-Lewis 

Courtesy of Cornish College of the Arts 

Music of Erwin Schulhoff


Music of Erwin Schulhoff 

Based upon the music of Erwin Schulhoff 

Tempo of Recollection draws upon a range of work by Erwin Schulhoff, and incorporates 

movement and theatrical design, to create a staged performance culminating in 

Schulhoff’s 2 nd String Quartet, featuring the St. Helen’s String Quartet. The piece employs 

an ensemble of musicians, actors, and dancers (approximately 10 altogether), integrated 

with projection, sound, lighting and minimal scenery to create a performance 

that provides historical, cultural and aesthetic contexts for Schulhoff’s work, and uses 

these performative elements and multiple contexts to lead into and inform the St. 

Helen’s performance of the Schulhoff 2 nd String Quartet. 

Schulhoff was a fascinating and significant artistic presence in the Central Europe of the 

1920s and 30s, as a concert pianist, jazz improviser and composer. He was born in Prague 

in 1894 and discovered at the age of 7 by Antonin Dvorak. He subsequently studied 

in Vienna, Leipzig, Paris (with Debussy) and Koln, before moving to Dresden following 

World War I. He launched a successful career as a concert performer, becoming 

friendly with many of the noted composers of his day, including Berg and Janacek, but 

he is perhaps best known to us as one of the first composers to successfully integrate 

jazz and neoclassical approaches. Following his death in a Nazi labor camp in 1942 (he 

was a German-speaking Czech Jew and a Communist), his works largely disappeared 

until the Glasnost period of the later 1980s, during which they were rediscovered and 

championed by Gidon Kremer and James Conlon, among others, although the bulk of 

his compositions still remain largely unknown to contemporary audiences. 

Intellectually, this piece is deeply informed by an understanding of the tremendous, 

generative cultural world of the 1920s & 30s Mitteleuropa, described by Milan Kundera 

and others; a cultural world, of which Schulhoff was a part, and which was lost to us - 

eliminated by the Nazi genocides, World War II and the period of the Cold War, which 

only began to end with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and other events. This was a 

world that spanned the languages and cultures of Germany and the former Austro- 

Hungarian Empire, as well as France. Among the most easily recognized cultural 

movements from the period are Dada, Expressionism, late Jugenstil (Secession), but 

more importantly it was a period of great experimentation, easily the equal of (or exceeding) 

and the precursor to the ferment in Western arts since World War II. Schulhoff’s 

works, encompassing sophisticated neoclassical approaches, jazz and popular 

dance music, while also reflecting his affiliations with important visual artist movements, 

especially Dada and Expressionism, embodies the artistic milieu of Central 

Europe’s last great period of cultural flowering and destruction. 

visit www.TempoOfRecollection.com 

Description Page 1



The performance itself will begin with the deliberately 

academic opening remarks of an invited speaker, introducing 

the work to be performed, accompanied by a the chairs 

and music stands of a string quartet and a projection of 

Schulhoff’s face. Shortly into his remarks, 

however, his efforts will be subverted, 

using performance and technological 

techniques, to move us into a 

backwards timeline built of fragmentary 

projection and audio clips invoking significant historical and cultural 

events and moments, leading from present day Prague, back through 

the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Cold War, WWII, the Holocaust, into a 

set of images and radio recordings reminding us of the cultural 

world of the 1920s in Central Europe. During the course of this 

backwards timeline, on stage the performers gradually assemble an 

evocation of a 1920s dancehall, with scattered café tables and chairs, 

including waitresses, a pianist and musicians, gathering late one evening. 

Among these performers will be the members of the St. Helens String Quartet, 

undifferentiated from the other denizens of this dancehall. 

In this environment the audience will see and hear a variety of 

Schulhoff’s shorter piano and other music, performed by the 

various musicians in attendance, combined with popular dance 

of the time and Dada vocal performance, leading into the performance 

of Schulhoff’s 2 nd String Quartet. This section of the 

performance provides the audience some familiarity with a 

range of Schulhoff’s musical approaches, which in turn will inform 

listening to the 2 nd 

String Quartet. This 

section also sets the 

mood and rhythm leading 

into the actual performance 

of the Quartet, 

while ensnaring the 

audience’s attention. Lastly, this section enables 

us to arrange the members of the St. 

Helen’s String Quartet in a performance configuration 

without the audience being aware we 

are doing so, since they are both unannounced 

and incorporated into the swirling onstage activity. 

photo credit: Michelle Smith-Lewis Courtesy of Cornish College of the Arts 


Description Page 2




Tempo di Fox a la Hawaii from Rag-music, op. 41 

Beginning from backstage, the first piece of music heard in Tempo of Recollection is the 

“Tempo di Fox a la Hawaii,” for solo piano. It is music intended for the dancehall, light 

and whimsical in nature, clearly jazz inspired. During the performance of this short 

piece, the piano is swung out onto the stage enabling the quality of the sound to change 

from distant to more present. This piece is used to signal the end of the opening speech 

by the Schulhoff scholar as well as to begin to transport the audience out of their normal 

time and place, into a backwards timeline during which the world of the 21 st century 

melts away and the dancehall feel of the 1920s begins to emerge. 

Tocata sur le Shimmy “Kitten on the Keys” from Cinq etudes de jazz 

Once the “Tempo di Fox a la Hawaii” has concluded, the pianist immediately 

follows that with the “Tocata sur le Shimmy ‘Kitten on the 

Keys’”, a raucous, jazz-inspired virtuoso show piece. Now that the pianist 

is on stage, this volcanic piece fuels the energy that drives the 

overwhelming moving images projected onto the back curtain. 

Slightly chaotic, it matches the whirlwind feeling of being pulled back 

in time through some of the most traumatic events of 20 th century 

Europe. 

Alla Marcia militaristica in modo Europaico 

A string quartet plays “Alla Marcia militaristica in 

modo Europaico”, a short work, mocking in tone of a 

goosestepping European military procession. This is a 

previously unrecorded fragment of a work by Schulhoff. 

During this piece, which the musicians play from 

memory, the mover/dancers combine with the musicians 

to create the picture of a transport train, visually 

and musically briefly representing the military oppression 

of Eastern Europe during World War II and the 

loses of the Holocaust. 


Music Descriptions Page 1



Susi. Fox-Song 

Written under the pseudonym Eman Balzar, this short song is the final step in the 

backwards timeline, firmly establishing that the setting is now 1920s Prague. Accompanied 

at the piano by the introductory speaker now transformed 

into Schulhoff himself, the melody is first played 

from back stage on a strange sounding violin. As two of the 

newly established dancehall denizens dance the slow Foxtrot, 

the violinist emerges from backstage playing a Stroh 

Violin. The Stroh Violin is basically a violin with an aluminum 

horn used for sound projection as opposed to the resonating 

wood cavity of a normal violin. It was invented and 

used in the early 20 th century as a way to more specifically 

focus the violin’s sound into the newly developed and therefore 

primitive recording devices. Because of its lack of resonating 

cavity and its use of a metal horn for sound projection, 

the sound is not rich and robust but rather focused and 

thin. It sounds extremely reminiscient to modern ears of recordings 

from the period in time the show is representing. 

Therefore this very specific sound palette, along with the 

foxtrot feel and pop-tune sounding melody (originally written 

for a popular radio audience) is fully effective in placing the time and location for 

this point in the show in 1920s Prague. 

Charleston from Esquisses de jazz 

One of the dancehall denizens requests Schulhoff to play something 

more upbeat so he performs his rendition of a “Charleston”. The 

dancehall denizens cannot resist the driving rhythms and all dance 

the Charleston. Schulhoff was a regular in the dancehall and as one 

of the period’s leading pianists and a keen jazz enthusiast, he would 

spend night after night playing piano for the dancehall patrons. This 

Charleston along with many of the other jazz inspired works in the 

show come filtered through Schulhoff’s experience of the jazz he 

heard performed in Europe. So while it still has a Charleston feel, 

and is danceable, it is not necessarily what one would think of as a 

Charleston. 





“Langsam wandle ich dahin” from Funf Gesange mit Klavier 

A bourgeois woman, something of a diva, rises to sing a short song by Schulhoff from his 

“Funf Gesange” (Five Songs). The music is beautiful and haunting, but also angular, 

clearly grounded in a challenging 12-tone setting, similar to music 

by Arnold Schoenberg or Alban Berg or others from the “2 nd Viennese 

School”. This music shows that Schulhoff was keenly aware 

of many of the musical trends in Europe, including the move away 

from traditional tonality and was active both in performing other 

composers’ works as well as writing his own. Though he was to 

only be active with this sort of music for a short time, including 

this work demonstrates one end of the range of music that Schulhoff 

was interested in. During the performance of this work, 

some patrons are entranced, while others are bored and slightly 

irritated at this invasion on their dancehall from this sort of music. 

As the song ends several people silently clap, the rest shout, 

“kvatch!”, a German word indicating their displeasure. 

Black Bottom from Esquisses de jazz 

The patrons want dance music in the dance hall and so begin snapping their fingers to a 

rapid beat, signaling Schulhoff to sit back at the piano and play his version of the “Black 

Bottom”. The Black Bottom, like the Charleston is from Schulhoff’s 

Esquisses de jazz (sketches of jazz) and once again presents an irresistible 

opportunity for the denizens to dance. The Black Bottom is 

slower and sexier than the Charleston and in contrast to the Funf Gesange, 

the “high art-song”, more approximates the mood of the dance 

hall. Also, this presents the first time that all the musicians play as 

the string quartet musicians, scattered about the stage take out their 

instruments and improvise along with Schulhoff at the piano. The 

assumption is that these musicians, familiar with the dancehall atmosphere 

and the dances that Schulhoff is playing, can hear just a 

few notes on the piano and immediately join in and play along. 

Sonata Erotica opus extra “nur fur Herren” 

The bourgeois singer, now feeling a sense of what this dancehall is all about, and certainly 

not to be outdone by anyone decides to try to reclaim the spotlight. She bangs on 

the piano lid to grab everyone’s attention and then sings a long high note to which most 

of the dancehall inhabitants simply roll their eyes at and continue their conversations. 

But then her long high note transforms into an extremely suggestive sigh of passion. 





She begins Schulhoff’s “Sonata Erotica ‘nur fur Herren’ (for men 

only) ”, a dada-esque display of a woman vocalizing an orgasm, 

fully notated with text and guidance as to duration and pitch of 

the utterances. The dancehall denizens, now far from irritated, 

are both engrossed and slightly embarrassed by this provocative 

new development. As the singer continues, the patrons begin a 

series of synchronized, stylized movements that mimic the Sonata 

Erotica, almost as if the entire dancehall crowd is both having and 

expressing the orgasm as it unfolds. The climax is followed by a 

group drag off an imaginary cigarette, as well as flicking some 

stray tobacco off the tongue, and the crowd erupts into silent applause. 

The singer, with her daring display has completely won 

over the crowd. 

Tango from Esquisses de jazz 

Schulhoff, sensing the mood of the hall, sits back at his piano and starts to play a sensual 

“Tango”. The musicians, members of the string quartet, 

now gather around one table on the stage and after 

collecting their instruments, and once again join 

in with Schulhoff. The remaining people, begin to 

pair up and dance the Tango. This Tango, just as the 

Charleston and Black Bottom are from a set of piano 

pieces entitled, “Esquisses de jazz”. More than the 

others from the set, this piece captures the essence of 

what one would normally consider a Tango, the sultry 

atmosphere and the insistent rhythmic motive. 

Originally written for piano solo, this arrangement 

adds the members of the quartet to the mix, once again with the players joining in an 

improvisatory manner. With that in mind, this particular arrangement allows for the 

violist to stop playing to join in the dancing, as well as to take over the piano part so that 

Schulhoff can leave his post at the keyboard to finally dance with the bar girls. 

Alla Tango milonga from Funf Stucke fur Stringquartette 

Once the violist relegates the piano part back to Schulhoff, the Tango from the Esquisses 

seemlessly merges into the “Alla Tango milonga” from the Funf Stucke fur Stringquartette. 

This now begins the first “concert-style” performance by the string quartet. The 

action in the café scene is diminished allowing attention to be focused on the quartet 

performance. The Tango milonga is a substantial movement, extremely rich in texture 

and dramatic in character. Contrasting with the piano dance pieces presented so far it is 





in a much more serious tone, however still written in 

an audience-friendly style, as opposed to the Song 

from the Funf Gesange heard earlier. This work demonstrates 

Schulhoff’s experimentation with a popular 

dance form in a more formalized concert setting. Placing 

this work at this point in the show begins to give 

context for Schulhoff’s eclectic tastes and capabilities, 

ranging from vernacular popular songs to serious concert 

works. 

Symphonica Germanica 

Symphonica Germanica is a short dada-esque work, similar to the 

Sonata Erotica in that it is categorized as “opus extra” and is designed 

to be a shocking send-up of “normal” music. Again, like the 

Sonata Erotica, it is notated, however in a manner purposefully unplayable 

in any conventional sense as it is scored for right hand, left 

hand, nose, head, etc. and contains the melody and words to 

Deutchland Uber Alles, the German National Anthem. At this point 

in the action, the waiter, who has seen a variety of different performances 

throughout the evening steps forward and decides he 

can join in the fun as well by very earnestly presenting this grotesque 

version of Symphonica Germanica. 

Dneska kazda modni zena 

The bourgeois singer, after her triumph with the Sonata Erotica 

and now fully appreciating the appropriate tone for the room, 

sings this gently lilting Czech song accompanied by Schulhoff on 

the piano. The melody is in a style that would be popular for a 

fashionable woman of the 1930s, very appropriate for a common 

radio audience for which it was probably originally written. Just 

like the “Susi. Fox-Song”, Schulhoff writes it using a pseudonym, 

in this case George Hannel. Several of the musicians in the 

dancehall, recognizing the tune, gladly join in. This final song 

before the performance of the string quartet serves to further illustrate 

the range of Schulhoff’s eclectic taste, from the popular 

to the serious. 





String Quartet #2 

The performance of Schulhoff’s String Quartet #2 is the culmination of the entire evening. 

Everything leading up to this point, the opening speech by the scholar, the dancehall 

setting, the jazz-inspired piano music, the dances, the Expressionistic song, the 

popular songs, all serve to create a context for listening to a complete performance of 

the String Quartet #2. This work is about 20 minutes in length over 4 separate movements. 

In a normal concert setting, this music would be as accessible and enjoyable to 

listen to as any quartet by Dvorak, Debussy or Shostakovich, but in this setting, the focus 

of the audience is heightened. The 

audience, having heard about Schulhoff’s 

life, having become immersed in the time 

and place the music was created, having experienced 

his emphasis on rhythm and 

heard the variety of musical styles Schulhoff 

was interested in, will hear the String Quartet 

#2 in a way that no normal concert setting 

could provide. Although the action on 

the stage for this performance is completely 

focused in on the quartet, and is in fact very 

similar to a normal concert performance, it 

is different because the audience will have 

had a level of immersion in Schulhoff’s world that would never be normally possible. 

The String Quartet # 2 is in 4 movements, each dramatic and captivating, which to a 

discerning listener will contain several of the musical threads presented throughout the 

evening. For instance, there is a short section in the 2 nd movement titled, “Tempo di 

Fox”. The 3 rd movement is meant to represent Czech folk music. The outer movements 

have tastes of Expressionism, Impressionism, Classical structure, driving rhythms, moments 

of introspection and above all an understanding of the musical times in which 

they were created and completely engaging to an audience. 

Alla Tarantella 

Played as an encore, the Alla Tarantella is from the Funf Stucke fur Stringquartette. It is 

a virtuosic show piece, fast and exciting, designed as an exciting climax to the evening’s 

performance. 






NICK SCHWARTZ-HALL, CREATOR AND DIRECTOR 

Nick Schwartz-Hall is a theater maker and producer working 

with innovative approaches to live performance and new 

technology. He is the Co-Artistic Director of Assemblage, an 

evolving collective of artists dedicated to developing the widest 

variety new performance employing music, theater, 

movement and new technologies. As line producer for the 

Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), he has supervised the 

creation of lost objects, directed by Francois Girard and composed 

by the artists of Bang on a Can, and Shelter, a collaboration 

with the Ridge Theater, Bang on a Can, Trio Medieval 

and MusikFabrik of Köln. Also for BAM he is currently line 

producing Tan Dun’s The Gate with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. 

As production manager for the internationally-acclaimed performance company Complicite 

and Artistic Director Simon McBurney, he helped create The Noise of Time (with the Emerson 

String Quartet), The Elephant (with Tokyo’s Setagaya Public Theater), The Resistible Rise 

of Arturo Ui (with Al Pacino, for Tony Randall’s National Actor’s Theater), and Strange Poetry 

(with the Los Angeles Philharmonic). From 2001 -2003 he was the in-house production supervisor 

for the Harold Prince Organization, supervising Carol Burnett's HOLLYWOOD ARMS on 

Broadway, and the musicals 3HREE and BOUNCE by Stephen Sondheim. His passion for the 

integration of performance and technology began with The American Music Theater Festival's 

CrossWaves Festival in 1994, headlined by Graham Nash's World Premiere of LifeSighs, a multimedia, 

real-time interactive, live performance, co-produced with Silicon Graphics. Since then 

he has been involved as a designer or producer with companies such as Martyn Ware and Vince 

Clark’s The Illustrious Company (UK) and The Flying Machine and worked with theatrical creators, 

dancers, musicians, designers and technologists to create new work in venues ranging from 

Grand Central Station to the West End, Off-off Broadway to Moscow, art installations to industrials. 

From 1994-96 he was the General Manager of the American Music Theater Festival, developing 

innovative new works of music theater, and from 1997-2000 he was the Production 

Manager for The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival. Since 2000, in addition to 

working with Complicite and Harold Prince, he also has developed new work with Elizabeth 

Streb (ACTION HEROES), The Builders Association/moti roti (ALLADEEN), TheatreWorks 

Singapore (SILVER RIVER, an opera) and worked with a number of prominent Off-Broadway 

theater companies. His work is guided by the belief that utilizing new technology is not about 

imposing cutting-edge equipment on a performance, but about creating compelling content integrated 

appropriately with emergent techniques to communicate with audiences and facilitate 

the work of artists. Schwartz-Hall explores new realms of performance and time-based art made 

possible by computer processing, video and graphic technology, 3-D sound imaging, animatronics, 

wireless communication, new scenic materials, various kinds of sensors, and physical performance. 

Now based in Seattle, he recently designed the scenery for the World Premiere of Ariel 

Dorfman’s Purgatorio and video of My Name is Rachel Corrie at Seattle Repertory Theater. 


Bios Page 1



SAINT HELENS STRING QUARTET 

Taking its inspiration from 

the exquisite rugged natural 

beauty of the Pacific 

Northwest, the Saint Helens 

String Quartet embraces a 

sense of musical adventure, 

exploring an often uncharted 

sonic territory in 

which contemporary classical 

music intersects with 

genres including jazz, pop, 

rock, folk and world music. 

The result: A listening experience 

of exquisite beauty. 

Like the world-renowned 

Kronos Quartet, the Saint Helens String Quartet brings classical training to a dynamic, cuttingedge 

sensibility, creating music that extends the boundaries of the ear and defines a truly 

American sound. Called the "Saint Helens adventurous four" by the Seattle Weekly, the group 

makes a practice of commissioning and performing works by northwest composers, premiering 

two new works at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall. They are currently the ensemble in residence at Cornish 

College of the Arts in Seattle where they work with the composition class as they explore 

writing for the string quartet performing their works at the Scores of Sounds series. 

This season the quartet presented a two week festival of the forgotten music of Erwin Schulhoff, 

which included an exciting collaboration with the Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Nick Schwarz- 

Hall. Under his direction, the quartet performed Schulhoff’s 2 nd string quartet written in 1925, 

as the center piece of a theatre work called “Tempo of Recollection”. Utilizing high tech video 

techniques and documentary footage and music to transport the audience to 1920’s Prague, the 

quartet joined actors, pianists, singers and dancers to recreate Schulhoff’s night club world of 

pre-war Europe. The show resulted in standing ovations, and an invitation to present the work 

at the Seattle Symphony’s Festival of Contemporary Music in June of 2007. 

Last season the Saint Helens Quartet also was heard in John Adam’s “Gnarley Buttons” at the 

Seattle Symphony’s Made in America Festival, and at the series “Second Sundays in Snohomish” 

where they presented works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Ken Benshoof, Thomas Oboe Lee, and Peter 

Schickele. They are often guests of KUOW’s “The Beat” with Dave Beck and work with the 

Seattle Chamber Music Festival in it’s outreach program to Seattle area children through a series 

of chamber music presentations. In July 2006 they collaborated with KING FM’s Marta Zekan 

in a show called “Mozart, Boy Genius”. 

Violin Michael Jinsoo Lim* 

Violin Adrianna Hulscher 

Viola Michael Lieberman 

Cello Paige Stockley Lerner 

www.SaintHelensQuartet.com 

* Michael Jinsoo Lim is a guest artist of the Saint Helens String Quartet 


Bios Page 2



SHEILA DANIELS, CHOREOGRAPHER 

Sheila Daniels is the Literary Manager at Capitol Hill Arts Center (CHAC) and the co-founder/ 

Artistic Director of Baba Yaga Productions. Directing credits include The 

Bridge of San Luis Rey (Strawberry Theatre Workshop), Burning Bridget 

Cleary (Ladykiller Productions), Shock Brigades: Women in Combat, Vaya 

con Lola (Baba Yaga), Waiting for Lefty,God's Country, Arcadia (CHAC), 

Macbeth (Wooden O), The Last State (On the Boards), Anaphylaxis (Throwing 

Bones - Artistic Pick of 2003 Seattle Fringe Festival) The Trojan Women, 

Language of Angels, Dream of a Common Language, The Trestle at Pope Lick 

Creek, Transformations and Other Tales (Theater Schmeater), COLD (Tacoma 

Museum of Glass) and Machinal (A Theater Under the Influence). She 

has also directed numerous productions at Cornish College of the Arts, where 

she teaches Acting and Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration. 

JOSE GONZALES, ACTOR AND PIANIST 

Jose Gonzales, piano and actor received a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts in 1989 and is 

both a professional actor and musician. Gonzales has been performing in 

Seattle theatres since graduating and his work has included Our Town at 

Intiman, Franz Kafka in the Philip Glass opera In The Penal Colony and 

Guiliano in Big Love, both at ACT Theatre, Buddy Holly in The Salvation of 

Iggy Scrooge and Aldo in The True History of Cocoa-Cola in Mexico at The 

Empty Space Theatre. Nationally, Gonzales reprised the role of Franz Kafka 

in Chicago at the Court Theatre, and played Anthony in A Question of Mercy 

at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. As a professional pianist, his repertoire is 

based around the music of the American Songbook. He has his own jazz 

trio, The Jose Gonzales Trio, that plays regularly in Seattle and he also performs 

in musical revues, solo shows and musical accompaniment. Additionally, 

Jose Gonzales has composed music and soundtracks for film and video. 

ROBIN JOHNSON, MEZZO-SOPRANO 

Robin Johnson is a native to the Northwest, and was a student at Cornish College of the Arts 

where she studied classical voice. Robin is a Mezzo-soprano, and has performed 

roles throughout the Northwest and Florida with professional and 

amateur opera companies and a variety of professional singing groups. She 

has become a favorite voice in many communities throughout Seattle. Over 

the last 3 years, Robin performed as the soloist in the “Salon Series” in Seattle; 

a series of concerts performing a variety of classical pieces ranging from 

Schubert to Sondheim. Recently Robin performed the role of Hansel in Hansel 

and Gretel , and Pappagena in The Magic flute with Northwest Opera in 

Schools. She has appeared with Kitsap Opera as Mrs. Page, and has performed 

the role of Cherubino with the Bradenton Opera, Opera by the Book, and with 

the Seattle Opera in their opera previews. Robin has also performed the role 

of Despina with the Eugene Opera, and appeared in their chorus in Pagliacci. 


Bios Page 3



ERWIN SCHULHOFF (1894-1942) CZECH COMPOSER AND PIANIST 

Jazz improviser, classical pianist, Dadaist, protégé of Dvorak and Debussy 

and dancehall habitué, Erwin Schulhoff was a rising star in the 

cultural world of 1920’s Europe. Among the first to integrate jazz and 

neoclassical composition, his work was nearly erased by the Holocaust 

and the Iron Curtain. 

Born in Prague of Jewish-German origin, Schulhoff was one of the 

brightest figures in a generation of European musicians whose successful 

careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the Nazi regime 

in Germany. The contributions made by many of these musicians, including 

Schulhoff, have largely languished in obscurity ever since, despite 

their pivotal importance to the development of classical music 

during the early 20th century. In his youth, Schulhoff studied composition 

and piano in Prague, Vienna, Leipzig and Cologne. He began to embrace the avant-garde 

influences of jazz and Dadaism in his performance and writing after World War I. He was one of 

the first classical composers in Europe to find inspiration in the rhythms of jazz music. Schulhoff 

was a celebrated keyboard virtuoso and made extensive tours of Germany while also venturing 

farther afield to France and England. In the 1930s, Schulhoff ran into mounting personal 

and professional difficulties. Because of his Jewish descent and his radical politics, he and his 

work were blacklisted as "degenerate" by the Nazi regime. He could no longer give recitals in 

Germany, nor could his works be publicly performed. His Communist sympathies, which became 

increasingly visible in his works, also brought him trouble in Czechoslovakia. In 1932 he 

created a music version of "The Communist Manifesto" (Op. 82). Taking refuge in Prague, he 

found employment as a radio pianist but earned barely enough to cover the cost of everyday essentials. 

When the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939, he had to resort to performing under a 

pseudonym. In 1941, the Soviet Union approved his petition for citizenship, but he was arrested 

and imprisoned before he could leave Czechoslovakia. In June 1941, Schulhoff was deported to 

the Wülzburg concentration camp in Bavaria. He died on August 18, 1942 from tuberculosis. 


Bios Page 4



photo credit: Michelle Smith- 

Lewis Courtesy of Cornish 

College of the Arts 

CONTACT: 

Nick Schwartz-Hall, creator and director of 

“Tempo of Recollection” 

Tel: (646) 765-9551 

Email: nschwartzhall@gmail.com 

www.TempoOfRecollection.com 

Paige Stockley Lerner, 

Saint Helens String Quartet 

Tel: (206) 720-2920 

Fax: (206) 329-3448 

Email: Paige@speakeasy.org 

www.SaintHelensQuartet.com 

visit www.TempoOfRecollection.com



Tempo of Recollection 

TECHNICAL RIDER 

Space 

Tempo of Recollection is designed for performance in either a proscenium house or 

black box. Minimum stage dimensions required are 28 feet wide (if the house has a 

deep stage apron the proscenium opening can be slightly narrower) and 40 feet deep, 

although a variety of stage configurations can be accommodated, pending discussion 

with the company. Backstage or understage crossover is preferred, and it is preferable 

for the company to be able to enter the playing area from upstage. The show does not 

require flying pipes, but we do need to suspend a projection screen upstage with a black 

scrim on the front of it, and we need to be able to hang black side masking tabs. 

Scenery 

The set consists of an upstage rear projection screen, hung approximately 20-24 ft from 

the downstage edge of the stage with a black scrim on the downstage side of it. The bottom 

of the screen sits on the stage floor. The width and height of the screen may vary, 

but cannot be any less than 20ft high and 25 ft wide. The black scrim must be of equal 

or greater dimension, so that it completely covers the RP. A pair of black side masking 

tabs are hung on either side of the RP. 6-8 feet downstage of the scrim is hung a black 

traveler, split center, which can either have fullness or not. Depending on the stage configuration 

and location of entrances, additional masking may be needed. 

In addition, we need a good quality upright piano, which sits on a rotating platform upstage 

left. The platform rotates on one of its offstage corners, which should be attached 

to the floor. 


Technical Rider Page 1



The Company will provide the rotating platform. 

The presenter must provide the RP, scrim, all masking and traveler, as well as the piano. 

The show uses 4 cafe tables, with tablecloths and 10 bent wood chairs, an old fashioned 

upright radio, 4-5 music stands, as well as a variety of hand props, including bottles and 

glasses. We also use a few old-fashioned musical instrument cases All props will be 

provided by the company. However, if the presenter has a lightweight lectern for use by 

the ‘speaker’ at the top of the show, that may be preferable to using the music stand provided 

by the company. 

There is no open flame. 

Digital pictures of the show are viewable at www.tempoofrecollection.com, and can also 

be provided by email upon request. A stage plot can also be provided upon request. 

Lighting 

The company will provide a light plot for each venue, taking into account the house 

lighting inventory, grid height and any special factors. 

The show uses a minimum of 30-40 lekos, some of which can be substituted for with Par 

Cans or Fresnels. The lighting is fairly general, dealing mostly, but not exclusively, with 

area coverage, with a few specials. 

We need to attached or place on the piano an old fashioned piano lamp, which the company 

will provide, but it must be operated through the house lighting system. 

The old fashioned radio also has a light in it, which should be operated through the 

house lighting system. 

Sound 

The show does not have particularly sophisticated sound needs or multiple speaker positions. 

Optimally, sound would come from a left - right - center proscenium configuration, 

with the option of 2 upstage speakers at deck level. In addition, the old fashioned 

radio, which is placed on stage in the course of the show, has a small speaker in it, which 

also needs to be controlled through the house soundboard. 

The show needs one operational handheld wireless microphone, which should be controlled 

through the house light board. It is used by the speaker at the top of the show 

only. 





We need to play back a number of voice-over cues. We also have a number of short 

broadcast (TV and radio) cues of historic incidents. The company will provide the voice 

over cues and broadcast cues on CD. 

In addition, there is an important voice-over cue, which must sync with the speech of 

the speaker at the top of the show, and needs to be recorded in the performance space 

during the afternoon technical rehearsal before the show. In brief, this cue involves the 

speaker talking through a wireless handheld, and his voice must seamlessly transition 

into a precorded voice over cue. 

We do not use any amplification for the musical instruments. 

Projection 

It is always preferable for reasons of staging and aesthetics to do Tempo of 

Recollection with a deep stage in order to facilitate rear projection. However, 

in the event this is not possible, we have developed a scenario for using 

only front projection. 

Below are the options for rear projection and only front projection: 

The show normally uses 2 video projectors: 

1) A minimum 5K lumen rear projector placed upstage to project full screen images 

onto the RP; It is for projecting a full stage width image, usually a minimum of 24 ft. 

wide by 18-20 ft high at the upstage edge of the performing area. The size of this image 

depends up the stage width, the screen and available masking. 





2) A smaller projector for front projection placed either on the balcony rail or in the light 

booth. This projector is intended to place a handful of specifically masked images onto 

scenery pieces and performers. This projector should not be less than 2K lumens. 

The make and brightness of these projectors should be discussed with the company for 

approval. 

Both projectors are controlled by a Dataton Watchout system. The show can be controlled 

from a basic PC (please check specifications with the company Projection Designer), 

but the display computers should be controlled with purpose built Watchout 

computers or PCs specifically configured and provided to run Dataton Watchout software. 

The company will provide the media and control discs, as well as the license keys, 

if necessary, for WatchOut version II. 

The presenter must provide all necessary types and runs of cable for the projection, including 

Ethernet, VGA, etc. Cabling should be checked with the company production 

manager or projectionist. 

1. Rear projection scenario 

The higher lumen projector is placed upstage center on a raised platform, approximately 

8-10 ft. above the stage floor. The minimum throw distance is approximately 20 ft., but 

may vary depending on the size of the stage opening and the rear projection screen. 

The smaller projector is placed optimally on the balcony rail or the lighting control 

booth in order to project small images on the tablecloths, the backs of performers and 

other small objects, such as the cello. 

2. Front projection only scenario 

In the event that only front of house positions are available for projection, the higher 

lumen projector needs to be placed in a center position high enough to shoot over the 

heads of the performers on stage onto the rear projection screen. In most cases the 

screen will have to be raised a few feet, rather than positioned with its bottom on the 

stage floor. Almost certainly the projector in this scenario will need to be significantly 

brighter than 5K lumens, as it will have to cut through the stage lighting. 

The smaller projector is placed with the same considerations as in the Rear projection 

scenario. 

Costumes/Wardrobe 

The company will take care of its own costumes, but does require access to laundry facilities. 

Please also provide the location of a nearby dry-cleaning service. 





Load in 

Load-in access requirements are quite simple, as long as load-in takes place at stage 

level or there is a freight elevator. All of the scenery pieces can easily fit through a normal 

pair of double doors. 

Schedule 

Assuming that lighting, sound and the RP are prehung, a typical load in begins at 8am 

and lasts 2-3 hours, followed by focus and a run through, with meal breaks, concluding 

at 6pm, before an evening performance. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: This show is designed with a festival format in mind. 

All pieces can be quickly struck and/or flown out for fast turn around 

Crew 

Load-in and run crew requirements should be discussed with the company Production 

Manager in advance. For load-in we need 2-4 stagehands (including a fly man, for 

hanging the RP, scrim and masking), 4-6 electricians (sufficient to hang and circuit 60 

lighting instruments in 4 hours, if not pre-rigged, and focus) and 1 sound person who is 

knowledgeable about the house. The touring company includes a stage manager, who 

can establish positions for scenery, an ASM, who is knowledgeable about the props and 

backstage operation of the show, and technicians who are knowledgeable about the 

lighting, projection and sound for the show. Please provide one wardrobe person for the 

load-in day to help with laundry and minor maintenance. 

The company is capable of running its own lighting and sound, if permitted, and in most 

cases does not require backstage run crew, except if needed by the venue. We prefer to 

operate lighting and sound ourselves, since cues are taken off the performance and are 

usually not called. We do not need a wardrobe person to help run the show. 

Dressing rooms 

Please provide separate, clean, well-lit dressing rooms with showers for women and 

men. The performing company consists of 5 women and 6 men. We will need a lock up 

for valuables. If possible, a production office for the use of the stage manager and crew 

with phone and Internet access would be appreciated. 

Contact 

Nick Schwartz-Hall 

(646) 765 9551 or e-mail NSchwartzHall@gmail.com 

Revised 

05-20-07

TEMPO OF RECOLLECTION - Hosfeld Artist Management

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