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

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 […]

Beyond Debussy and Ravel: Florent Schmitt’s Ombres (1912-17)

Maurice Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit is justly recognized as that composer’s most towering achievement in piano keyboard writing.  Composed in 1908, this set of three pieces (Ondine, Le Gibet, Scarbo) which take their inspiration from a book by Aloysius Bertrand, are the most technically demanding and revolutionary of Ravel’s piano works. Far less well-known but equally […]