Experiencing Florent Schmitt’s imposing Piano Quintet (1902-08) in concert: An eyewitness report from Tokyo (April 30, 2026).

May 5, 2026 · by Phillip Nones | in Chamber Music, French Composers | tagged Florent Schmitt, Gabriel Faure, Jean Hure, Kaikhosru Sorabji, Mari Endo, Mario Ishiguro, Nao Tohara, Piano Quintet, Schmitt, Tetsuo Tsushima, Tomoki Sakata, Toppan Hall, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, Yasuhiro Suzuki, Yomikyo Ensemble, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra | 1 Comment

Live concert performances of Florent Schmitt’s monumental Piano Quintet, Op. 51 (1902-08) may be an uncommon occurrence, but they’re always a cause for celebration. The most recent presentation of this stunning product of France’s “Golden Age” of music occurred at Toppan Hall in Tokyo, Japan on April 30, 2026. The performance featured pianist Tomoki Sakata joined by […]

Pianist Tomoki Sakata talks about performing Florent Schmitt’s brilliant orchestral showpiece Symphonie concertante (1932) with Yan Pascal Tortelier in Tokyo.

June 15, 2023 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Piano Music | tagged Bruno Montavani, Florent Schmitt, Hugh Wolff, Huseyin Sermet, Mario Ishiguro, Paul Badura-Skoda, Schmitt, Serge Koussevitzky, Symphonie Concertante, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Tomoki Sakata, Yan-Pascal Tortelier | 3 Comments

This past Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2023), the young Japanese pianist Tomoki Sakata presented Florent Schmitt’s complex, über-brilliant Symphonie concertante, Op. 82 with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra under the direction of veteran French conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier. The concert marked the first time this music had been performed anywhere in the world since the […]

Experiencing Florent Schmitt’s sonic spectacular Symphonie concertante (1932) in performance: An eyewitness report from Tokyo.

February 15, 2023 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, Composers, French Composers | tagged Andre Jolivet, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chausson, Florent Schmitt, Mario Ishiguro, Schmitt, Shin-ichi Numabe, Symphonie Concertante, The Rite of Spring, TMSO, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Tomoki Sakata, Yan-Pascal Tortelier | 4 Comments

On Valentine’s Day 2023, Japanese pianist Tomoki Sakata presented Florent Schmitt’s stunning Symphonie concertante, Op. 82 in concert with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Yan Pascal Tortelier. The Symphonie concertante was the centerpiece of an all-French program presented at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall that also included music by Gabriel Fauré (the Prélude […]