“This musician of immensity and altitudes”: French music journalist and writer Paul Locard takes the measure of Florent Schmitt at eighty years of age (1950).

Several months ago, I published an article about an 80th birthday tribute event honoring Florent Schmitt that was organized in 1950 by the town of St-Cloud, where the composer had lived for 40+ years. The festivities included a gala reception and concert featuring recent compositions created by Schmitt, presented by leading French classical musicians. Not […]

A musical time capsule is unearthed in provincial France.

June 13, 2024 · by Phillip Nones | in French Composers, Vocal Music | tagged Alistair Kendry, Charente, Charles Koechlin, Courcome, Demande, Elsa Barraine, Florent Schmitt, Gheorghe Anghel, Hotel Majestic, Koechlin, Marie-Noel Westerman, Marthe Bailloux, Mary Fisher, Messiaen, Musique sur l'eau, Peninsula Paris, Pierre Bailloux, Poemes des lacs, Schmitt, Sylvio Lazzari | 4 Comments

The Charente summer home of soprano Marthe Bailloux and her military husband yields a trove of noteworthy artifacts from France’s “Golden Age” of art and music. Sometimes the most incredible adventures are put in motion purely by happenstance. This is certainly the case with Alistair Kendry and Mary Fisher, two English creative artists who decided […]

Fête de la lumière: Florent Schmitt’s extravagant showpiece at the Paris Exposition (1936-37).

December 17, 2016 · by Phillip Nones | in Choral Music, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Vocal Music | tagged Albert Speer, Alyette Melvat, Barraud, Charles Baudelaire, Christopher Hill, Dukas, Eugene Beaudouin, Eugene Bigot, Fete de la lumiere, Fete des belles eaux, Fetes de la lumiere, Florent Schmitt, French Composers, Ginette Martenot, Gustave Cloez, Henri Tomasi, Ibert, Jean Fournet, Josef Thorak, Koechlin, Madeleine Milhaud, Marcel Lods, Maurice Imbert, Maurice Martenot, Messiaen, Milhaud, Olivier Messiaen, Ondes Martenot, Paris Exposition, Philippe Louis, Pierne, Ravel, Roussel, Schmitt, Tony Aubin, Yves Hucher | 4 Comments

In 1937, one of the final transnational gatherings held on the European continent before the onset of World War II occurred in the city of Paris. The International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life — colloquially known as the Paris Exposition — took place between May and November of that year. Its lofty […]