In my years of interfacing with professional classical musicians, I’ve noticed how frequently friendships that had been established during their years of study at music schools and conservatories have continued for decades thereafter, as professional lives intersect and opportunities to collaborate present themselves on a recurring basis. Less common — but in some ways more […]
Tag Archives: Schmitt
The catalogue of Florent Schmitt’s compositions is extensive, consisting of some 138 opus-numbered items (actually, two numbers weren’t used by the composer — including Op. 111, omitted in deference to Beethoven’s 32nd Piano Sonata). But there’s more. Going beyond the “official” catalogue, we find a number of additional items. Chief among them are Schmitt’s first […]
On Thursday, March 17, 1894, the 239th concert of the Société nationale de musique was presented at the Salle Érard in Paris. It was the first time a piece composed by Florent Schmitt had appeared on any Parisian music program. Among the two mélodies by Schmitt presented that evening by contralto Nelly Guénia was one […]
The French composer played a major role over four decades as both a host and a participant in Paris’ salon culture. We know from history that in addition to being a composer and music critic, Florent Schmitt was a salonnier. From the 1920s on, he and his wife Jeanne hosted regular Thursday afternoon open house […]
In addition to multiple presentations of Schmitt’s best-known composition La Tragédie de Salomé, music-lovers will be treated to several works from the composer’s early and late career. For the upcoming 2024-25 concert season, the popularity of Florent Schmitt’s ballet La Tragédie de Salomé (1907-10) continues on its upward trajectory — a trend that sees no […]
The Charente summer home of soprano Marthe Bailloux and her military husband yields a trove of noteworthy artifacts from France’s “Golden Age” of art and music. Sometimes the most incredible adventures are put in motion purely by happenstance. This is certainly the case with Alistair Kendry and Mary Fisher, two English creative artists who decided […]
In 2021, the NAXOS label’s Grand Piano imprint issued a CD featuring solo piano music of Florent Schmitt performed by Biljana Urban. This Paris-trained pianist. now living in Amsterdam, has a particular appreciation for the piano music of French composers from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries – Florent Schmitt included. (Click here to […]
Premiered in May 1940 — mere weeks before the fall of France — the piece was shelved thereafter, with the unpublished score and parts languishing in the archives of the Bibliothèque national de France and Universal/Durand. Within the catalogue of Florent Schmitt’s compositions, there are a significant number of works for orchestra with chorus. Some […]
Alain made important first recordings of French piano scores by Florent Schmitt, while Tristan is exploring the composer’s sumptuous early-career mélodies. Recently a multi-country recital tour was announced featuring tenor Cyrille Dubois and pianist Tristan Raës, in which mélodies by the composer Gabriel Fauré and several of his students would be performed. I was pleased […]
His soon-to-be-released album includes two premiere recordings plus an unpublished 1950 piano sonata that later became the wind composition Chants alizés. A new recording of piano works by Florent Schmitt is scheduled for release in late 2024 – one that’s particularly important in that its focus will be on late-career compositions that have never been […]
Much has been written about the famous salonnières of Paris — the wealthy and often-flamboyant grandes dames who opened up their drawing rooms to musicians, authors and artists — facilitating not only the camaraderie of “breaking bread” together but also providing a venue for these creatives to socialize with prominent members of Parisian society representing […]
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 […]
In September and October 2023, American pianist Matthew Bengtson performed three recitals in which he introduced a selection that was new to his repertoire: Florent Schmitt’s Trois danses, Op. 86. Composed in 1934-35, the piece is a relatively late work among the voluminous quantity of piano music that Schmitt created for piano solo, duet and […]
Among the final crop of compositions that Florent Schmitt brought forth during his long career are a group of sacred works written for chorus or mixed solo voices. They are seven in number, penned or published during the final eight years of the composer’s life: Trois liturgies joyeuses, Op. 116 (1951) Psaume VIII (Domine, Dominus […]
The artist’s daughter, stage, screen and TV actress Élisabeth Margoni-Beneyton, rediscovered the portrait and presented it to pianist Claudio Chaiquin in recognition of his commitment to recording the music of Florent Schmitt. One of the most fulfilling aspects of creating content for the Florent Schmitt Website + Blog is coming across historical artifacts that add […]