Pianist and musicologist Frank Cooper talks about discovering Florent Schmitt’s Trois rapsodies (1903-4) and preparing a pioneering recital performance of the piece with Martin Marks in 1967.

Among the most impressive music channels on YouTube are two that are run by Helen Moritz, who has uploaded a wealth of rare piano performances from yesteryear. Ms. Moritz has painstakingly searched for audio recordings of recitals given by some of classical music’s greatest pianists. Among the artists are Jorge Bolet, Mieszyslaw Horszowski, Raymond Lewenthal, […]

Members of the Kebyart Ensemble talk about Florent Schmitt’s Quartet for Saxophones (1941) and its preeminent position in the saxophone repertoire.

October 9, 2021 · by Phillip Nones | in Chamber Music, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Instrumental Music | tagged Adolphe Sax, Alfred Desenclos, Anton Kernjak, Classical Saxophone, Claudio Martinez Mehner, Daniel Miguel, ECHO Rising Stars, Ensemble Squillante, Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya, ESMUC, European Concert Hall Orgnanisation, Florent Schmitt, Hagen Quartet, Hochschule fur Musik Basel, Kebyart Ensemble, Marcel Mule, Marcus Weiss, Nacho Gascon, Nicolas Prost, Palau de la Musica Catalana Barcelona, Pere Mendez, Pulcinella, Pulcinella Suite, Rainer Schmidt, Ravel, Robert Seara, Saxophone Quartet, Schmitt, Sergio Azzolini, Stravinsky, Victor Serra | 2 Comments

The piece will serve as the centerpiece of Kebyart’s ECHO Rising Stars concert programs being presented in 13 European countries between September 2021 and May 2022. Formed in 2014, the Kebyart Ensemble is one of Europe’s most promising saxophone quartets. The group is making a name for itself on concert stages throughout Europe, and also […]

Chant du soir (1895): An early composition by Florent Schmitt comes into its own — 125 years after its creation.

October 1, 2021 · by Phillip Nones | in Chamber Music, Instrumental Music | tagged Armand Parent, Beata Halska, Biljana Urban, Chant du soir, Claudio Chaiquin, Enesco, Enescu, Faure, Florent Schmitt, Francis Gorge, Grace Huang, Jacques Lerolle, Juliette Toutain, Lili Boulanger, Luigi Spina, Martin Frutiger, Massenet, Michel Nazzi, Music on Main Society, Nicholas Wright, Petya Mihneva Falsig, Robert Maxham, Rouart-Lerolle, Schmitt, Steven Kruger, Un Drame musical instantane | Leave a comment

Up until recently, familiarity with the earliest compositions of Florent Schmitt was rather scant. The composer’s first works were created in the decade leading up to his winning the Prix de Rome first prize for composition in 1900. It was the period after Schmitt had completed his music studies at the conservatory in Nancy and […]