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American orchestra conductor JoAnn Falletta talks about performing and...
Recorded in March 2015 by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the pieces are slated for release on the NAXOS label later this year. JoAnn Falletta Under its music director JoAnn Falletta, the Buffalo...
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Members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra Talk About Preparing Florent...
Meeting with members of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and talking about the music of French composer Florent Schmitt. Standing, l-r: Tim Smith, Matthew Bassett, Travis Hendra. Seated, l-r: Anna...
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Musicians of The Cleveland Orchestra talk about the music of Florent Schmitt...
The Cleveland Orchestra performed Florent Schmitt’s La Tragédie de Salomé in April 2015 — the first time in seven decades. On April 16 and 18, 2015, The Cleveland Orchestra performed Florent Schmitt’s...
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In the cross-currents of history: An interview with musician and author...
Riccardo Zandonai (1883-1944) Faithful readers of this blog know that its focus is nearly 100% on the life and music of French composer Florent Schmitt. However, occasionally we “relax the routine” to...
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Passionate advocate: French conductor Lionel Bringuier talks about the music...
Lionel Bringuier (Photo: Paolo Dutto) French conductor Lionel Bringuier’s meteoric rise in the classical music field has been noteworthy. Not yet 30 years old, he has been conducting major orchestras...
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World-premiere recording featuring Florent Schmitt’s works for violin and...
The NAXOS family of labels (NAXOS, Marco Polo, Grand Piano, etc.) has been one of the most active in bringing the music of Florent Schmitt to the microphones. In fact, its catalogue of Schmitt...
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Florent Schmitt’s Best-Known Early Composition: Soirs (1890-96)
Florent Schmitt’s early composition Soirs, composed between 1890 and 1896 and published by Durand in 1911. Schmitt later orchestrated eight of the ten preludes. Most music lovers who know the works of...
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Choral chromaticism par excellence: Florent Schmitt’s Cinq chœurs en vingt...
Late-career luxuriance: Florent Schmitt’s score to Cinq chœurs en vingt minutes (1951). Within the extensive catalogue of Florent Schmitt’s compositions are a great many vocal works — pieces written...
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In the chamber of the Shulamite: The great sopranos who have performed and...
A sonic “experience”: Florent Schmitt’s Psalm 47 (1904). The Psaume XLVII of Florent Schmitt is recognized as one of the most important choral works of the early 20th century. And while it isn’t...
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Florent Schmitt’s early art songs: A trove of treasures awaits rediscovery.
Florent Schmitt in his early years as a composer. Recently, the INA archives (French National Radio and Television) has begun offering for download a memorial concert held in honor of Florent Schmitt....
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Beyond Salomé: Florent Schmitt’s Other Biblical Ballet (Danse d’Abisag — 1925)
David & Abisag, painted by the Brazilian artist Pedro Américo in 1879. Acknowledged as one of the most important Brazilian painters in the Academic style, Américo (1843-1905) died in Florence,...
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Florent Schmitt and the Prix de Rome: 1900-1904 (Musiques de plein air; Le...
Villa Medici, Rome In the century period from 1850 to 1950, the Prix de Rome was probably the single most important and prestigious recognition for French composers. And for that reason, nearly every...
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Dancing Demons and Underwater Airplanes: Florent Schmitt’s Phantasmagorical...
Dancing Demons (artwork by moravid) Within the catalogue of Florent Schmitt’s compositions are a goodly number of brilliant orchestral showpieces that exploit the colors of the orchestra to the fullest...
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Made for the stage: The incredible life and career of dancer and dramatic...
Dancer and Dramatic Actress Ida Rubinstein (1913 portrait by Antonio de la Gandára) In every era, there are always a few people in the arts whose life and career sound like something out of a movie or...
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American conductor JoAnn Falletta talks about the release of her new NAXOS...
“Florent Schmitt’s music should be mentioned in the same breath as Debussy and Ravel.” — JoAnn Falletta, American Orchestra Conductor JoAnn Falletta In March of this year, the American conductor JoAnn...
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Conductor JoAnn Falletta’s Podcast Interview for NAXOS, on the Musical Legacy...
… His music, quintessentially French, moves beyond impressionism into a lush and tangled world of dark poetry and sumptuous story-telling. Rhapsodic, brooding and startlingly beautiful, Schmitt’s...
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Musicians Beata Halska and Claudio Chaiquin talk about researching and...
The new NAXOS recording includes several discographic world premieres, along with the monumental Sonate libre. In mid-2015, NAXOS released a recording devoted to Florent Schmitt’s music for violin and...
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Olivier Despax: Grand-nephew of composer Florent Schmitt … French heart-throb...
In a life cut tragically short even as Florent Schmitt’s was blessedly long, Olivier Despax was a musical meteor shot across the sky. Olivier Despax in 1955 (age 16). Music history is full of examples...
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Florent Schmitt Goes to Germany: Reflets d’Allemagne (1902-05).
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...
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A Rare Live Interview with French Composer Florent Schmitt (1956).
French composer Florent Schmitt, age 83, photographed in 1953, three years before his interview with Bernard Gavoty at Jeunesses Musicales de France. (Photo: ©Boris Lipnitzki/Roger-Viollet) For...
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