Pianists Genevieve Fei-wen Lee and Brian Hsu talk about preparing and performing Florent Schmitt’s Trois rapsodies (1903-04).

September 1, 2025 · by Phillip Nones | in French Composers, Piano Four-Hand Music, Piano Music | tagged Brian Hsu, Casadesus, Christopher Hill, Florent Schmitt, Garth Newel Music Center, Garth Newel Piano Quartet, Genevieve Fei-wen Lee, Jeannette Fang, Kanazawa-Admony, Ravel, Trois Rapsodies | 1 Comment

On August 17, 2025 two of Florent Schmitt’s Trois rapsodies, Op. 53 – Polonaise and Viennoise – were presented in concert at Garth Newel Music Center in Hot Springs, Virginia by duo-pianists Genevieve Fei-wen Lee and Brian Hsu. The performance was part of Garth Newel’s “Piano Weekend” set of two concerts featuring four pianists (Jeannette […]

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.

October 17, 2021 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, French Composers, Piano Four-Hand Music, Piano Music | tagged Arthur Loesser, Atlanta Music Company, Billy Munn, Butler University, Casadesus, Edward Kilenyi, Ernst von Dohnanyi, Festival of Neglected Romantic Music, Florent Schmitt, Frank Cooper, Gunnar Johansen, Harold Schonberg, Helen Moritz, Igor Kipnis, Ira Levin, Leopold Godowsky, Mainly Mozart Festival, Martin Marks, Schmitt, Trois Rapsodies | 4 Comments

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, […]

The Grand Piano label announces the release of a specially priced 4-CD set of Florent Schmitt’s complete original works for piano duet and duo (1899-1916) performed by the Invencia Piano Duo.

November 17, 2016 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Piano Four-Hand Music, Piano Music | tagged Andrey Kasparov, Audiophile Audition, Burkhard Schafer, Casadesus, Classica, Florent Schmitt, French Composers, Gaby Casadesus, Gary Lemco, Grand Piano, Invencia Piano Duo, Michel Fleury, MusicWeb International, NAXOS, Oksana Lutsyshyn, Piano Duet, Piano Duo, Piano Music, Piano News, Robert Casadesus, Schmitt, Scott McCarrey, William Kreindler | Leave a comment

Available in mid-January 2017, the boxed set includes all 14 compositions first released in 2012-13 … now at a special price of four CDs for the price of two. Several years ago, the Grand Piano label issued a series of four CDs that together make up the complete original works for piano duet and duo by […]

Brilliance and Sophistication: Florent Schmitt’s Trois Rapsodies for Two Pianos (1903-04)

April 14, 2014 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Piano Four-Hand Music, Piano Music | tagged Adolf Wiklund, Alfred De Veto, Alfred Hertz, Andrey Kasparov, Arthur Loesser, Bartlett & Robertson, Beryl Rubinstein, Brian Hsu, Camille Chevillard, Casadesus, Charles Burr, Classical Music, Dr. William Mason, Ellsworth Grumman, Emil Oberhoffer, Eugene Bigot, Florent Schmitt, Forgotten Records, Francaise, Frank Cooper, Frederique Gauthier, French Composers, Gaby Casadesus, Genevieve Fei-wen Lee, Georges Longy, Georges Witkowski, Gunnar Johansen, Gwendolyn Mok, H. Stanley Knight, Helene Lampl, Igor Kipnis, Invencia Piano Duo, Jacques Lacombe, Jacques Mercier, Jeanne Demessieux, Jeffrey LeDeur, JoAnn Falletta, Josef Stransky, Leopold Stokowski, Les Apaches, Leslie De'Ath, Lionel Bringuier, Martin Bookspan, Martin Marks, Marvine Maazel, Nadya Gordon, Nathaniel Shilkret, Orchestre Lamoureux, Ossip Grabrilowitsch, Paul Paray, Piano Duo, Piano Music, Polonaise, Rhapsodie Parisienne, Schmitt, Sidney Beer, Stephane Deneve, Steven Gordon, Trois Rapsodies, Viennoise | 2 Comments

One of the most musically satisfying of Florent Schmitt’s extensive trove of compositions for piano duet and duo – and the one that is my personal favorite among all of them – is Trois Rapsodies, Op. 53, a work he composed in 1903-04 during his time at the Villa Medici in Rome. Made up of three […]

Le petit elfe Ferme-l’oeil: Florent Schmitt’s Children’s Ballet (1923)

July 1, 2013 · by Phillip Nones | in Ballet, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Piano Four-Hand Music, Piano Music | tagged André Caplet, Andre Helle, Aurelien Azan Zielinski, Ballet, Belthoise, Casadesus, Clarence Lucas, Classical Music, Composers, De'Ath, Deneve, Duffield, Florent Schmitt, Forgotten Records, French Composers, Hans Christian Andersen, Hiroshima Wind Ensemble, Igor Kipnis, Izumiko Aoyagi, JoAnn Falletta, Laird Waller, Le Petit Elfe, Maillols, Martin Bookspan, Nones, Opera-Comique, Ravel, Schmitt, Tatsuya Shimono, Yuji Takahashi | 3 Comments

The popularity of large-scale works like Psalm XLVII, La Tragédie de Salomé and Dionysiaques would make one think that Florent Schmitt cared little for intimate subject matters as inspiration for his compositions. But the reality is different. While it’s true that the more grandiose and dramatic scores of the composer tend to be the ones […]

Get ready for Florent Schmitt’s piano duet and duo repertoire … all four CDs’ worth!

September 13, 2012 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Piano Music, Uncategorized | tagged Admony, Alexeyev, Casadesus, Classical Music, De'Ath, Florent Schmitt, Invencia Piano Duo, Kanazawa, Kasparov, Lutsyshyn, Music, NAXOS, NAXOS Grand Piano, Nones, Old Dominion University, Paik, Rapsodies, Sermet | Leave a comment

“[Florent Schmitt’s four-hand piano works are] probably the finest in the whole modern repertoire. Sanely modern and splendidly constructed (they are a joy to play), his large output — in quality and inspiration — stands alone, and his genius finds full expression in this form.” — Alec Rowley, English composer and keyboard artist Florent Schmitt’s […]