Florent Schmitt: Listing of Broadcast Performances of Compositions Housed at the INA Archives (French National Radio/Television)

Florent Schmitt French composer

Florent Schmitt, photographed in 1937 in the gardens of his home in St-Cloud. (Photo © Lipnitzki-Roger Viollet)

It should come as little surprise that the largest repository of live concert recordings of French composer Florent Schmitt’s music is at the archives of INA, the French Broadcasting System. Dozens of performances made over the past 50+ years exist — only a relatively small portion of which have been made accessible since they first aired on radio or television.

Listed alphabetically below are concert performances of Florent Schmitt’s music known to be housed in the INA’s archives, with links to available recordings or downloads included where known.

We can only hope that many more of these important historic audio documents will see the light of day eventually.

(N.B. Corrections or additions to the listing are welcomed.)

  • 3 Duos (excerpts); Chœurs de Lyon
  • 3 Chants Op. 98, No. 3 (La Tortue et le lièvre) RTF Orchestra; Joseph Peyron, tenor; Pierre Dervaux, conductor
  • 5 Choeurs (excerpts); Chœurs de Lyon
  • 6 Chœurs, Op. 81 (excerpts); Chœurs de Lyon
  • 4 Lieder, Op 45
  • 3 Liturgies joyeuses, Op. 116; Maitrise de Radio-France, Jacques Jouinneau, director
  • 3 Mélodies, Op. 4
  • 4 Monocantes, Op. 115, No. 2 (La petite princesse); Irène Joachim, soprano
  • 5 Motets for Male Voices (excerpts); Chœurs de Lyon
  • 4 Poèmes de Ronsard, Op. 100; Yvonne Gessler, soprano (1955)
  • 3 Préludes, Op. 3, No. 3; Y. Pâris, pianist
  • 3 Trios, Op. 99 (excerpts); Chœurs de Lyon

A-B

  • A contre-voix, Op. 104, No. 3 (Trois goélettes); Chœurs de Lyon
  • Andante et Scherzo, Op. 35; Frédérique Cambreling, harp; Radio-France Chamber Ensemble
  • Antoine et Cléopâtre Suite No. 1, Opus 69a; RTF Orchestra; J. Michon, conductor
  • Antoine et Cléopâtre Suite No. 2, Opus 69a; RTF Orchestra; Jean Martinon, conductor
  • Antoine et Cléopâtre Suite No. 2, Op. 69b: Night in the Palace of the Queen + Orgies & Dances; RTF Orchestra; Manuel Rosenthal, conductor (1970)

C-D 

Florent Schmitt Louis Aubert

Florent Schmitt with fellow composer Louis Aubert (1877-1968), photographed at the ORTF studios in Paris in the early 1950s.

E-G

H-L

M-N

Florent Schmitt postage stamp 1992

A commemorative postage stamp honoring the composer Florent Schmitt was issued by La Poste, the French national postal authority, in 1992.

O

P-Q

Florent Schmitt Arthur Honegger

Florent Schmitt, seated at far right, at an event honoring the composer Arthur Honegger (standing at left) on the occasion of receiving the diploma of Grand Officer of the Légion d’honneur. The reception was organized by Pierre Bourgeoise, president of Pathé-Marconi and was held at the Cercle Interallié in Paris in December 1954.

R

S

Florent Schmitt Andre Aaron Bilis 1956

A charcoal drawing of Florent Schmitt by the artist André Aaron Bilis (1956).

T-Z

Source: Wikipedia, with edits, updates and additions by Jean-charles Hoffelé and Phillip Nones.