Salome: Painting by French Symbolist Artist Gustave Moreau (1826-1898)
Without question, La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50 is Florent Schmitt’s most famous composition. Composed in 1907 and revised in 1911, this ballet is far more often performed as a symphonic suite these days (although the Mariinsky Ballet revived the stage version in 2013).
The composition became famous from the very start – recognized by music critics and audiences alike as one of the best examples of French tone painting.
It’s also the composer’s best-known “orientalist” work – a bright star in a constellation that also includes other femme-fatale heroines like Cléopâtre, Abisag, Salammbô and Oriane.
Florent Schmitt himself conducted the second recording of “La Tragedie de Salome” in Paris in 1930, leading the Straram Concerts Orchestra. This is the album booklet from the American Columbia release (Set M-157) which sold for US$8 in 1931 — the equivalent of $98 in today’s dollars!
So it’s not surprising that Salomé is also the composition of Schmitt’s that has enjoyed the most commercial recordings over the years.
Beginning in 1929/30 – when the first two recordings were waxed within a few months of one another – and continuing up to the present day, there have been no fewer than 15 commercial recordings made of this music.
One recording of the original unpublished 1907 ballet has also appeared – a fascinating reading of a version that’s nearly twice as long as the one the world knows best.
We are very fortunate to have a variety of interpretive approaches to this music. I have listened to all but one of the recordings (the elusive 1942/43 Charles Munch reading). While a number of the recordings appeal to me more than others, to my ears each of them has its own merits.
Indeed, Florent Schmitt has been quite fortunate in the quality of conductors and orchestras that have been inspired to bring this music in front of the microphones.
[In fact, one recording could be considered a “definitive” interpretation because the composer himself is leading the musical forces.]
Listed below are all of the commercially released recordings of La Tragédie de Salomé of which I’m aware. (Corrections or additions to the data are welcomed.)
Orchestre Symphonique du Gramophone, Piero Coppola, conductor. Recorded September 1929 … Original 78-rpm release: Gramophone W 1055-57 … CD reissue: Lys 373 (with works by Golestan, Honegger, Rabaud, Roussel)
Orchestre des Concerts Straram, Florent Schmitt, conductor. Recorded April 18-19, 1930, Théatre des Champs-Elysées (Paris) … Original 78-rpm release: LFX 68-71 … CD reissue: EMI 54840-2 (with works by Roussel)
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Charles Munch, conductor. Recorded October 15, 1942 and April 3, 1943, Salle du Conservatoire (Paris) … Original 78-rpm release: Gramophone W 1559-62 (Never reissued)
L’Orchestre du Théatre National de l’Opéra de Paris, Pierre Dervaux, conductor. Recorded October 16, 1957, Maison de la Mutualité (Paris) … Original LP release: EMI/Voix de Son Maitre FALP 530 … CD reissue: Forgotten Records FR 410 (with works by Dukas)
Prix de Rome winner: Paul Paray’s 1958 recording of “Salome” — the first release of this music in stereophonic sound.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Paul Paray, conductor. Recorded March 23, 1958, Orchestra Hall (Detroit) … Original LP release: Mercury SR 90177 Stereo … CD reissue: Mercury Living Presence 434336-2 (with works by Liszt, Saint-Saëns, Richard Strauss, von Weber)
Orquestra Sinfónica Nacional, Pedro de Freitas Branco, conductor. Recorded July 14, 1961, Studio A, Emissora Nacional de Radiodiffusão (Lisbon) (Live recording) … Original CD release: Strauss SP 4113 (with works by Debussy, deFalla)
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Antonio de Almeida, conductor Recorded 1970, London … Original LP release: RCA Victor LSC 3151 Stereo … CD reissue: ReDiscovery RD 082 (with works by Chausson, Dukas, Duparc)
Passionate advocate: Jean Martinon’s 1972 EMI recording of Florent Schmitt’s “Salome” is a highly effective interpretation.
L’Orchestre National de l’O.R.T.F., Jean Martinon, conductor. Recorded October 6-7, 1972, Salle Wagram (Paris) … Original LP release: EMI/Pathé Marconi C 069-12166 Stereo/Quadraphonic … CD reissue: EMI CDC 749748-2 (with works by Schmitt, Debussy)
L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, Marek Janowski, conductor. Recorded October 1988, Studio 103, Radio-France (Paris) … Original CD release: Erato 2292-45029-2 Stereo … CD reissue: Apex 2564-62764-2 (with works by Schmitt)
Double the music, half the musicians: The original 1907 version of “Salome,” recorded by Patrick Davin and Marco Polo in 1991.
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Patrick Davin, conductor. Recorded December 18-19, 1991, Pfalzbau-Hall (Ludwigshafen) … Original CD release: Marco Polo 8.223448 Stereo (Original 1907 version)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thierry Fischer, conductor. Recorded October 24-25, 2006, Brangwyn Hall, Guildhall (Swansea) … Original CD release: Hyperion DCA 67599 Stereo (with works by Schmitt)
Sylvain Cambreling’s recording is part of Hanssler Classic’s multi-volume survey of the Ballets Russes’ Parisian stage productions from 1900 to 1925.
SWR Symphony Orchestra (Baden-Baden u. Freiburg), Sylvain Cambreling, conductor. Recorded December 2007, Konzerthaus (Freiburg) … Original CD release: Hänssler Classic 93.223 Stereo (with works by Debussy, Stravinsky)
Borusan-Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, Sascha Goetzel, conductor. Recorded May 24-29, 2009, Borusan Oto, Istinye (Istanbul) … Original CD release: Onyx 4048 Stereo (with works by Hindemith, Respighi)
Orchestre Métropolitain, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor. Recorded July 2010, Église Saint-Ferdinand, Laval (Québec) … Original CD release: ATMA ACD2 2647 Stereo (with works by Franck) (View a video clip of the recording session)
Transnational flair: The superlative 2010 Chandos recording features a French conductor and Brazilian musicians.
Orquesta Sinfónica do Estado de São Paulo, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, conductor. Recorded July 5-9, 2010, Júlio Prestes Cultural Center (São Paulo) … Original CD release: Chandos CHSA 5090 Super Audio (with works by Schmitt)
A measure of the importance of the Salomé score — and of the performers involved – is the fact that nearly all of these recordings remain available today in CD or download formats — even most of the ones from the 78-rpm and pre-stereophonic era.
