Experiencing Florent Schmitt’s Antony & Cleopatra (1920) and other orientalist masterpieces from France’s “Golden Age” of classical music live in concert: An eyewitness report from Paris.

June 19, 2018 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers | tagged Aaron Merritt, Albert Roussel, Alexandre Dratwicki, Antoine et Cleopatre, Antony & Cleopatra, Charles Koechlin, d'Indy, Debussy, Edouard Foure Caul-Futy, Eric Butruille, Fabien Gabel, Florent Schmitt, Grand Salle Pierre Boulez, Istar, Jacques Dresa, Khamma, Orchestre de Paris, Padmavati, Palazzetto Bru Zane, Paris Philharmonie, Ravel, Schmitt, Vincent d'Indy | 1 Comment

American cellist Aaron Merritt and French arts administrator Eric Butruille traveled to the Philharmonie in Paris for the June 2018 event and were interviewed immediately thereafter. On June 9th and 10th, 2018, the Orchestre de Paris presented a program that must rank as one of the most interesting concerts of this year’s artistic season in the […]

Musicologist Suddhaseel Sen talks about the artistry of Florent Schmitt and the importance of his “orientalist” compositions.

August 15, 2017 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers | tagged Albert Roussel, Balzan Research Project, Bibliotheque Nationale, Chabrier, Dutilleux, Edward Said, ESRA Congress, European Shakespeare Research Association, Florent Schmitt, French Composers, Herodiade, Honegger, La Sulamite, Lionel Salter, Mediatheque Musicale Mahler, Messiaen, Naresh Sohal, Orientalism, Padmavati, Rabindranath Tagore, Reinhard Strohm, Schmitt, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Suddhaseel Sen, Villa-Lobos | 3 Comments

Musicologist, author and teacher Suddhaseel Sen comes to his appreciation of Western classical music from an interesting angle. A native of the Indian subcontinent, Dr. Sen made his first musical discoveries there, long before coming to the West for a range of music-related studies and research. Today, Dr. Sen is back in India as Assistant Professor of Humanities […]

French conductor Fabien Gabel talks about Florent Schmitt’s Ronde burlesque (1927) … and why he champions the music of this composer around the world.

June 1, 2017 · by Phillip Nones | in Ballet, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers | tagged Alain Margoni, Albert Roussel, Antoine et Cleopatre, Cleveland Orchestra, Debussy, Fabien Gabel, Jacques Ibert, Jolivet, La Tragedie de Salome, Le Palais Hante, Mahler, Milwaukee Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Francais des Jeunes, Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, OSQ, Paul Paray, Psaume XLVII, Ravel, Reinhold Friedrich, Reves, Ronde burlesque, Shostakovich, Tomasi, Vincent d'Indy | 1 Comment

Fabien Gabel is one of France’s leading conductors of the younger generation, with an international career. He has been music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec since 2012, and this year was also named music director of the Orchestre Français des Jeunes, succeeding David Zinman. In addition, he guest-conducts regularly in the United States and major […]

Musicologist and Author Nicolas Southon talks about his new book profiling orchestral works by 16 Francophone composers including Florent Schmitt.

September 22, 2016 · by Phillip Nones | in Ballet, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers | tagged A French Touch, Alberic Magnard, Albert Roussel, Andre Jolivet, Antoine et Cleopatre, Arthur Honegger, Charles Koechlin, Charles Munch, Daniel-Lesur, Darius Milhaud, Durand, Eschig, Florent Schmitt, Gabriel Pierne, Henri Dutilleux, Jean Cras, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Llil Boulanger, Louis Aubert, Nicolas Southon, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Dukas, Pierre-Octave Ferroud, Rediscovering a Uniquely French Symphonic Repertoire, Sakari Oramo, Salabert, Stephane Deneve, Tragedie de Salome, Universal Publishing | Leave a comment

Published in English and French versions, the book is available for viewing and download free of charge. Recently, the music publishing firm Durand-Salabert-Eschig (part of Universal Music Publishing Group) released a book titled A French Touch: Rediscovering a Uniquely French Symphonic Repertoire. Researched and written by French musicologist and author Nicolas Southon, the slender volume (44 pages long) […]

French Conductor Fabien Gabel talks about Rêves (1915), other compositions of Florent Schmitt, and the future of French music in the concert hall.

June 10, 2016 · by Phillip Nones | in Ballet, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Instrumental Music | tagged Albert Roussel, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Charles Koechlin, Donatella Flick, Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, Elaine Schmidt, Ernest Chausson, Fabien Gabel, Florent Schmitt, Jean Cras, Orchestra Conductor, Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, Prix de Rome, Reinhold Friedrich, Reves, Roger Delmotte, Schmitt, Soir de fete, Tragedie de Salome, WASO, West Australian Symphony Orchestra | Leave a comment

This month, the French conductor Fabien Gabel revealed his plans to lead the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra in a December 2016 performance of Florent Schmitt’s tone picture Rêves, Opus 65 (Dreams), composed just over a century ago. In subsequent discussions with the Maestro, I discovered how much he is doing to program French repertoire from the late […]

The Influence of Florent Schmitt’s Psaume XLVII (1904) on Other French Composers

February 12, 2013 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Uncategorized | tagged Albert Roussel, Ayme Kunc, CeBeDeM. Belgian Centre for Musical Documentation, Choral Journal Magazine, Classical Music, Florent Schmitt, French Composers, Henri Busser, Henry Prunieres, Jean Martinon, Jean Rivier, John Perkins, Joseph Jongen, Leon-Paul Fargue, Lili Boulanger, Nadia Boulanger, Psalm 130, Psalm 24, Psalm 47, Psalm 56, Psalm 80, Psalm CXLVII, Psaume 130, Psaume 24, Psaume 47, Psaume 80, Psaume CXLVII, Psaume LVI, Psaume LXXX, Psaume XLVII, Rene Dumesnil, Serge Baudo, Yan-Pascal Tortelier | 2 Comments

“Years go by without depriving this musical monument of its nobility and power. On the contrary, it seems to shine with brighter radiance than when it was new.” — René Dumesnil, music critic, Le Monde When Florent Schmitt’s monumental score Psaume XLVII was premiered in December 1906, it burst upon the Parisian music scene in […]