Famed musician and educator Nadia Boulanger’s perceptive description of French composer Florent Schmitt’s artistry (1925).

December 1, 2023 · by Phillip Nones | in Composers, French Composers | tagged Alexandre Guilmant, Andre Gedalge, Antoine et Cleopatre, Arthur Judson, Christopher Hill, Ecole Normale de Musique, Ernest Boulanger, Faure, Florent Schmitt, Fontainebleau School of Music, Gabriel Faure, Lectures on Modern Music, Lili Boulanger, Louis Vierne, Nadia Boulanger, Piano Quintet, Reves, Rice Institute, Rice University, Schmitt, Walter Damrosch | 3 Comments

Boulanger’s remarks were made as part of her Lectures on Modern Music presented at Rice University in Houston, Texas (January 1925). In the world of music composition, Nadia Boulanger is universally acknowledged as one of the most significant and influential teachers of the craft. In that capacity, Boulanger guided the education of several generations of […]

Organist and author Bernard Gavoty’s posthumous tribute to composer Florent Schmitt (1958).

March 6, 2023 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers | tagged Beaumarchais, Bernard Gavoty, Fabien Gabel, Florent Schmitt, Henri Dutilleux, Jeunesses Musicales de France, Julien Cain, Louis Vierne, Madeleine-Pierre Querolle, Marcel Dupre, Pierre Rollat, Reirha Khalfoun-Mesloub, Reynaldo Hahn, Saint-Louis des invalides, Schmitt, SIRO | 2 Comments

“Florent Schmitt will not have left this earth without taking away, like a viaticum, the certainty of his genius.” — Bernard Gavoty At the time Florent Schmitt passed away on August 17, 1958 at the age of nearly 88 years, he was considered by many to be the doyen of French composers. One of the […]

Florent Schmitt and the Organ (Préludes, Marche nuptiale and more)

October 1, 2014 · by Phillip Nones | in Choral Music, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Organ Music | tagged Alexandre Guilmant, Alphonse Leduc, Andrew Parnell, Bernhard Leonardy, Bibliotheque Nationale, BNF, Casavant, Cavaille-Coll, Charles-Marie Widor, Chorale Elisabeth Brasseur, Cor de Jong, Damin Spritzer, Durand, Ernest Ibbotson, Felix Fourdrain, Florent Schmitt, French National Broadcasting System, Gabriel Faure, Gary Sieling, Gaston Litaize, Gilman Chase, Guillaume le Dreau, Homer Humphrey, Jan Kraybill, Jean Martinon, Jobert, John Poole, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Louis Vierne, Marche Nuptiale, Maurice Durufle, Organ Music, Palmer Christian, Priere, Psalm 47, Psaume XLVII, Romary Grosjean, Schmitt, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Simon Joly, Sofi Jeannin, solo organ, Virgil Fox | Leave a comment

One of Florent Schmitt’s most famous and popular compositions is his monumental choral work Psaume XLVII, Opus 38. Composed in 1904, it is one of the most striking choral works of the 20th Century — or of any era in classical music. Music lovers who are familiar with this work know how important the organ part […]