Pianist Biljana Urban talks about her new recording featuring world premiere renditions of works by Florent Schmitt.

September 13, 2021 · by Phillip Nones | in Classical Music, French Composers, Piano Music | tagged Aldo Ciccolini, Angeline Pondepeyre, Annie d'Arco, Ballade de la neige, Biljana Urban, Cortot, Crepuscules, Daniel Schorno, Exilarte Centre, Gerald Hugon, Grand Piano, Ivo Kaltchev, Jan Urban, Jan Vorisek, Jean Gabin, Laurent Wagschal, Leon-Paul Fargue, Michael Haas, Nadia Boulanger, NAXOS, Pascal le Corre, Prelude Triste, Pupazzi, Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Ritournelle, Scriabin, TivoliVredenburg, Tom Peeters, Toon de Zoeten, Trivoli Vredenburg, Vladimir Jankelevitch, Vorisek | 1 Comment

Five premiere recordings are part of the new collection devoted to the solo piano music of the composer, scheduled for release in October 2021 on NAXOS’s Grand Piano label. Over his long career, French composer Florent Schmitt created many piano compositions — a body of work spanning more than a half-century from the early 1890s […]

Canadian pianist Linda Ippolito talks about discovering and performing Pupazzi (1907), Florent Schmitt’s whimsical tribute to Commedia dell’Arte characters.

August 21, 2019 · by Phillip Nones | in Chamber Music, Piano Music | tagged Aminte, Arlequin, Atys, Biljana Urban, Canadian Opera Company, Cassandre, Clymene, Commedia dell'Arte, Damis, Egle, Florent Schmitt, Four Seasons Centre, Georges Barrere, Jazz Bistro, Jean Doussard, Linda Ippolito, Loie Fuller, Louise Bessette, Maurice Babin, Music Leadership and Conflict, Pupazzi, Scaramouche, Schmitt, Sheridan Ippolito, Walter Damrosch | 1 Comment

Over the past 20 years, the vast majority of Florent Schmitt’s music for piano solo has been rediscovered by a new generation of music-lovers and performers. Moreover, nearly all of this music has been commercially recorded at least one time. However, one piano composition, Pupazzi, Opus 36 (Puppets), hasn’t been part of the revival, and […]

Forgotten Records: Resurrecting noteworthy commercial and broadcast recordings of Florent Schmitt’s music from the LP era.

May 1, 2014 · by Phillip Nones | in Ballet, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Organ Music, Piano Four-Hand Music, Piano Music, Uncategorized | tagged Alain Deguernel, Albert Wolff, Charles Bruck, Chorale Elisabeth Brasseur, Classical Music, Clavecin obtemperant, Danse des Devadasis, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Eugene Bigot, Fete de la lumiere, Florent Schmitt, Forgotten Records, French Composers, Fritz Munch, Gustave Cloez, Habeyssee, Hasards, Henri Tomasi, Igor Markevitch, Inghelbrecht, Jean Fournet, Jean Giardino, Jean-Marie Darre, Louis Fremaux, Madeleine Vautier, Maurice Babin, Orchestre Lamoureux, Oriane et le Prince d'amour, Petit Elfe Ferme l'Oeil, Pierre-Michel Le Conte, Pupazzi, Remus Tzincoca, Salome, Schmitt, Semiramis, Sonate libre, String Quartet, Tony Aubin, Tragedie de Salome, Trois danses, Trois Rapsodies | 2 Comments

There’s no question that in the past two decades, the breadth and depth of French composer Florent Schmitt’s music that has made it to the microphones has increased dramatically. Nearly every year, we are treated to world premiere recordings of more Schmitt works. The most recent examples are the complete works for piano duo and duet as […]