French-American conductor David Grandis talks about discovering the music of French composer Max d’Ollone and championing his repertoire in the concert hall.

Regular readers of the Florent Schmitt Website + Blog know that occasionally we “relax the routine” a bit and delve into the artistry of other composers — particularly ones who lived and worked in the same time period as Schmitt. (See, for example, these articles about Stravinsky, Ravel and Zandonai.) Another such person is Max […]

Musicians Edward Rushton, Guillaume Le Dréau and JoAnn Falletta talk about Florent Schmitt’s captivating Chansons à quatre voix (1903-05).

February 16, 2017 · by Phillip Nones | in Choral Music, Composers, French Composers, Piano Four-Hand Music, Vocal Music | tagged Alfred de Musset, Alison Cullen, Annina Haug, Chansons a quatre voix, Choral Music, Concerts Siohan, Edward Rushton, Festival de Paques, Florent Schmitt, French Composers, Fribourg University Chamber Choir, Guillaume Bellom, Guillaume le Dreau, Hans Huber, Harry White, Ismael Margain, Jean Francaix, JoAnn Falletta, Juvenalia, Marieke Koster, Maurice Ravel, Miravia Duo, Opera North, Pascal Mayer, Quatuor Vocal d'Archipel, Robert Siohan, Vocaal Ensemble Dwarsklank, Vocal Music | Leave a comment

Throughout his long composing career spanning from the late 1880s to the late 1950s, Florent Schmitt would return again and again to the human voice. While he never composed an opera, he wrote voluminous pages of music in every other form that features solo and mixed voices. Tellingly, the composer’s Opus 1 and his final Opus 138 […]

Horn soloist Corbin Wagner talks about performing Lied et scherzo (1910), Florent Schmitt’s extraordinary double wind quintet composition featuring the French horn.

November 26, 2016 · by Phillip Nones | in Chamber Music, Classical Music, Composers, Concert Band Music, French Composers, Instrumental Music | tagged ARD International Music Competition, Chabrier, Corbin Wagner, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Dionysiaques, Eric Shannon, Florent Schmitt, French horn, International Horn Competition of America, Jacquelyn Wagner, Jean Francaix, Larghetto, Lied et Scherzo, MSU Wind Symphony, Paul Dukas, Psalm 47, Psalm XLVII, Schmitt, Villanelle | Leave a comment

One of the most fascinating pieces of music featuring the French horn is Florent Schmitt’s Lied et scherzo, Op. 54. Originally composed in 1910 for double wind quintet in which one of the horns plays an important solo role, subsequently the composer prepared three other versions of this music: one for horn and piano; another […]