The international Bachtrack website is in the process of uploading its global database of classical music programs for the coming season.
Although it doesn’t provide a comprehensive listing of every professional group’s events, the site covers nearly all of the major orchestras, opera and ballet companies around the world, making it the “go-to” resource for information about what’s happening on the classical music calendar. (Having one of the most robust and easy-to-use search mechanisms of any website of its kind is an added plus.)
The 2019/20 season is just now coming into focus – and we see that six important compositions of French composer Florent Schmitt will be presented by orchestras in Antwerp, Buffalo, Hiroshima, Montréal, Perth and Québec City, conducted by Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Lionel Bringuier, JoAnn Falletta, Fabien Gabel, Jaime Martin and Dirk Meyer.
The 150th birthday anniversary of Florent Schmitt, who lived from 1870 to 1958, happens in 2020. (Photo: Lipnitzki/Roger-Viollet, 1937)
The upcoming concert season is particularly significant in that the year 2020 is the 150th birthday anniversary year for Florent Schmitt, thus providing an opportunity for additional focus on this composer and his artistic legacy. Already we’re seeing the inclusion of orchestral pieces that aren’t the usual concert fare, and hopefully additional performance plans will come to light in the same vein.
Listed below are details on the upcoming season’s concerts, along with links to learn more information about the performances and to reserve tickets.
July 12, 2019
Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50 (1907/10)
Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande Suite, Op. 80
Ravel: Tzigane
Saint-Saëns: Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso
Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra; Kazuyoshi Akiyama, conductor
Arabella Steinbacher, violinist
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October 3-5, 2019
Schmitt: Rêves, Op. 65 (1915)
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14
Ledger: Viola Concerto
West Australian Symphony Orchestra; Fabien Gabel, conductor
Brett Dean, viola
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November 8, 2019
Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50 (1907/10)
Holst: The Planets
Wagner: Das Rheingold: Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla
Augusta Symphony; Dirk Meyer, conductor
Women of the Augusta Choral Society
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February 22, 2020
Schmitt: Antoine et Cléopâtre, Suite No. 2, Op. 69b (1920)
Poulenc: Concerto in D Minor for Two Pianos & Orchestra
Ravel: Ma Mère l’oye: Suite
Ravel: La Valse
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra; Jaime Martin, conductor
Lucas & Arthur Jussen, duo-pianists
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March 6-7, 2020
Schmitt: Musiques de plein air, Op. 44 (1904)
Schmitt: Oriane et le Prince d’Amour: Suite, Op. 83b (1933)
Debussy: Prélude a l’après-midi d’un faune
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; JoAnn Falletta, conductor
Konrad Skolarski, piano
(Schmitt selections being recorded for release on the NAXOS label)
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March 14-15, 2020
Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50 (1907/10)
Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales
Salonen: Helix
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal; Lionel Bringuier, conductor
Leonidas Kavakos, violinist
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May 27, 2020
Schmitt: Musique sur l’eau, Op. 33 (1898/1913)
Aubert: Habanera
Debussy: Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire: Le jet d’eau
Duparc: Three Songs (Chanson triste; Phidylé; Testament)
Poulenc: La Dame de Monte-Carlo
Ravel: L’Enfant et les sortilèges
Orchestre Symphonique de Québec; Fabien Gabel, conductor
Helene Guilmette, Marie-Éve Munger, Chantal Parent, sopranos
Antoinette Dennefeld, Geneviève Levesque, Stéphanie Pothier, mezzo-sopranos
François Piolino, tenor
Jean-Francois Lapointe, baritone
Robert Huard, bass
Le Chœur de l’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec
La Maîtrise des petits-chanteurs de Québec
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More information on these upcoming concerts can be found on the Bachtrack site, or on the web pages of the various arts organizations (click or tap on the links above).
In the coming weeks, it is likely that additional concerts featuring Florent Schmitt’s music will be announced for the upcoming season. They will be added to the listing above as soon as the information becomes available.