Dancer and choreographer Francesca Todesco talks about resurrecting Isadora Duncan’s vision of Florent Schmitt’s Reflets d’Allemagne (1902-5) and presenting the premiere version of the full ballet in 2022.

April 1, 2023 · by Phillip Nones | in Ballet, Classical Music, French Composers, Piano Four-Hand Music | tagged Alan Moverman, Bruno Belthoise, Catherine Gallant, Dances We Dance, Emmanuel Bay, Florent Schmitt, Francesca Todesco, George Copeland, Irma Duncan, Isadora Duncan, Isidora Vladic, John Singer Sargent, Julie Levien, Katharina Van Dyk, Loie Fuller, Mary Jo Pagano, Maurice Ravel, Nathaniel LaNasa, Ramon Sender, Reflets d'Allemagne, Schmitt, Walter Damrosch | 1 Comment

Florent Schmitt’s Reflets d’Allemagne, Op. 28, inspired by his travels throughout Central Europe during his Prix de Rome period (1900-04), is a suite of eight waltzes originally written for piano duet — and music that fairly cries out for ballet treatment. By turns the pieces are whimsical and elegant, but also shot through with notable […]

French pianist Bruno Belthoise talks about keeping Florent Schmitt’s Une semaine du petit elfe Ferme-l’oeil (1912) part of his performing repertoire over the years.

December 10, 2017 · by Phillip Nones | in Ballet, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Piano Four-Hand Music, Piano Music | tagged Adolfo Rascon Carbajal, Antonio Rosado, Bruno Belthoise, CeDeCe, Claude Maillols, Claudio Carneyro, Fabien Gabel, Florent Schmitt Schmitt, Francesca Todesco, Francisco de Lacerda, French Composers, Hans Christian Andersen, Isadora Duncan, JoAnn Falletta, Joao Costa Ferreira, Julia Levien, Le Petit Elfe, Lisboa-Paris, Luiz Costa, Manoel de Oliveira, Reflets d'Allemagne, Saison France-Portugal, Schola Cantorum, Sergio Azevedo, Teresa Valente Pereira, Trio Pangea, Trois Rapsodies, Une semaine due petit elfe Ferme-loeil | Leave a comment

In 2013, one of the earliest interviews I conducted for the Florent Schmitt Website + Blog was with the French pianist Bruno Belthoise. I had discovered him from YouTube, where several movements of Florent Schmitt’s piano four-hand suite Une semaine du petit elfe Ferme-l’oeil, Opus 58 had been uploaded from a performance he gave at the […]

Florent Schmitt Goes to Germany: Reflets d’Allemagne (1902-05).

January 10, 2016 · by Phillip Nones | in Ballet, Classical Music, Composers, French Composers, Instrumental Music, Piano Four-Hand Music, Piano Music | tagged Allison Cullen, Berlioz, Chabrier, Classical Music, Classical Piano, Debussy, Desire Inghelbrecht, Edward Rushton, Elie Cohen, Faure, Florent Schmitt, Kenneth Fuchs, Lalo, Louis Laloy, Massenet, Miravia Duo, Piano Duet, Piano Duo, Piano Music, Prix de Rome, Ravel, Reflections of Germany, Reflets, Reflets d'Allemagne, Rimsky-Korsakov, Robert Blot, Satie, Schmitt, Tony Aubin | 2 Comments

For music-lovers who aren’t very familiar with the music of Florent Schmitt, they may well think that the composer is German. Or at the very least, they might assume that the music bears a strong resemblance to Germanic musical style. Of course, for those who know Schmitt and his artistry, they realize that any “German” musical influence falls well-behind French influence […]