A Parisian Tribute to Serge Koussevitsky

Tout Paris came together 100 years ago to fete the Russian-born conductor upon his election as a Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur. The Russian-born conductor Serge Koussevitzky arrived in Paris in 1920, leaving behind Soviet Russia where he had led the Philharmonic Orchestra of Petrograd since 1917. Maestro Koussevitzky was already a household name in […]

Beyond Salomé: Florent Schmitt’s Other Biblical Ballet (Danse d’Abisag — 1925)

One of the lesser known of Florent Schmitt’s so-called “orientalist” works is Danse d’Abisag, Opus 75. This work, which was composed in 1925, began life as a choreographic work but soon migrated to the concert hall. In creating the orientalist works upon which so much of his fame rests, Schmitt derived inspiration from historical, biblical […]