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Fascinating, complex sonorities: Florent Schmitt’s String Trio (1944).
“So dense, so many notes, so many double-stops. So hard to play in tune together, so tricky to balance and to make it sound natural. But what special notes they are!” — Michiel Weidner, Prisma...
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Reminiscing with American soprano Audrey Stottler about presenting Florent...
The dramatic soprano, famous across the world for her Turandot and other signature operatic roles, sang the rapturous solo part in Florent Schmitt’s stunning choral work Psaume XLVII in 2001. A sonic...
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French actor and narrator Vincent Figuri talks about resurrecting and...
In the late 1980s the first and only commercial recording of Florent Schmitt’s intriguing composition Fonctionnaire MCMXII, Op. 74 was released on the Cybelia label, featuring the Rhenish State...
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Exploring dance forms down through the ages: Florent Schmitt’s Trois danses...
Florent Schmitt seated at the piano in his study. This photo dates from 1937, two years following the creation of his Trois danses for solo piano. (©Boris Lipnitzki/Roger-Viollet) Florent Schmitt’s two...
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Four important compositions of Florent Schmitt to be featured in the upcoming...
The international Bachtrack website is in the process of uploading its global database of classical music programs for the upcoming season. Although it isn’t an exhaustive listing of every professional...
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Paul Paray: The conductor who popularized Florent Schmitt’s ballet La...
Paul Paray (1886-1979) Music history tells us that the French conductor Paul Paray (1886-1979) gave more first performances of Florent Schmitt’s compositions than any other director. Indeed, Maestro...
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Experiencing Florent Schmitt’s Antony & Cleopatra (1920) and other...
American cellist Aaron Merritt and French arts administrator Eric Butruille traveled to the Philharmonie in Paris for the June 2018 event and were interviewed immediately thereafter. On June 9th and...
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American soprano Korliss Uecker talks about preparing and singing the solo...
Korliss Uecker One of the most memorable highlights of my concert-going life was hearing Florent Schmitt’s stunning choral masterpiece Psaume XLVII, Op. 38 presented at Lincoln Center in New York City....
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American cellist Elisa Kohanski talks about Florent Schmitt’s Chant élégiaque...
Cello scores by Florent Schmitt, found in a Paris music store in June 2018. Schmitt composed three cello concertante works during his early, middle and later creative periods: Chant élégiaque...
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Feuillets de voyage: French composer Florent Schmitt’s musical travel diary...
Florent Schmitt, photographed at about the time Feuillets de voyage was published by Durand et Cie. (1913). Often, composers “favor” instruments that they themselves know how to play. Florent...
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Playful liveliness and ironic verve: Florent Schmitt’s Trois trios for female...
Within the extensive catalogue of compositions by Florent Schmitt are a large number of choral works, great and small. Of these, music-lovers are likely to be most familiar with Schmitt’s grandiose...
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Mathieu Cherkit: A noted young painter draws artistic inspiration from...
Camouflage, a view of Florent Schmitt’s longtime home, painted by French artist Mathieu Cherkit (2017). Mathieu Cherkit Not long ago, a document surfaced on the Internet that dates from the time of the...
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Musicians of the Scarab Club Chamber Music Series Talk About Preparing and...
Florent Schmitt’s late-career quartet Pour presque tous les temps (“Quartet for Almost All the Time”), performed at the Scarab Chamber Music Series in Detroit (Grosse Pointe), Michigan (October 2018)....
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Pianist Alain Lefèvre reminisces about working with the great French...
Christian Ferras (1933-1982) To younger music-lovers, the name Christian Ferras may not be well-recognized. But Ferras, who lived from 1933 to 1982, was one of the finest violinists of the 20th...
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Musiques intimes (1891-1904): Captivating piano miniatures by Florent Schmitt...
A page from the manuscript for Florent Schmitt’s Musiques intimes (Book 2), signed and dated by the composer (September 1902). Florent Schmitt may be best-known for his opulent orchestral scores, most...
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French music specialist Michael Feingold talks about creating orchestrations...
Regular readers of the Florent Schmitt Website + Blog know that sometimes we “relax the routine” and publish an article that focuses on a different composer – usually a contemporary of Schmitt. Maurice...
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Clavecin obtempérant (1945), Florent Schmitt’s endlessly fascinating...
The first page of the score for Florent Schmitt’s harpsichord suite Clavecin obtempérant, composed in 1945 for Marcelle de Lacour. Over a lengthy career spanning more than seven decades, French...
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Infectious elegance and so much more: Florent Schmitt’s Trois valses...
Florent Schmitt (1900 photo) French composer Florent Schmitt’s abilities as a pianist were considerable. Even so, he characterized the piano as “a convenient but disappointing substitute for the...
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Conductor JoAnn Falletta and mezzo-soprano Susan Platts talk about preparing...
Visiting with mezzo-soprano Susan Platts (l.) and conductor JoAnn Falletta (r.) at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra … and discussing the music of Florent Schmitt (March 2019) In 2020, the NAXOS label...
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Six important compositions of Florent Schmitt to be featured in the upcoming...
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...
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