Florent Schmitt was one of the most successful French composers of the early 20th century. However, as fashions changed, his characteristically opulent music became marginalized, only to experience something of a revival, in recent years, mostly on recordings.
This week on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll mark the anniversary of Schmitt’s birth (on September 28, 1870) by sharing selections from his incidental music for a production of Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” and his grandiose setting of “Psalm XLVII.”
Schmitt entered the Paris Conservatory in 1889, where he studied with Gabriel Fauré, Jules Massenet, and Théodore Dubois. He was a winner of the Prix de Rome in 1900. He also befriended Frederick Delius, while Delius was in Paris, and prepared the vocal scores for a number of his operas.
In addition, Schmitt was a music critic, who attained a degree of notoriety for shouting out his assessments from the audience. He was described by one music publisher as an irresponsible lunatic.
The later neglect of his music may have been due, in part, to his willingness to go along with the Vichy regime during the Nazi occupation of France. But Schmitt is too fascinating a figure to be dismissed out-of-hand. Stravinsky was an early admirer, remarking that the composer’s “The Tragedy of Salome” gave him greater joy than any other he had heard in a long time. Certain elements of the ballet anticipate analogous experiments in Stravinsky’s own “The Rite of Spring.”
Indeed, Schmitt’s appetite for overheated decadence and lurid orientalism seems to have been insatiable. There will be nothing on our menu this week but overegged Florentine. I hope you’ll join me for “Schmitt Happens,” on “The Lost Chord,” now in syndication on KWAX, the radio station of the University of Oregon!
Clip and save the start times for all three of my recorded shows:
PICTURE PERFECT, the movie music show – Friday at 8:00 PM EDT/5:00 PM PDT
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT, the light music program – ALL NEW! – Saturday at 11:00 AM EDT/8:00 AM PDT
THE LOST CHORD, unusual and neglected rep – Saturday at 7:00 PM EDT/4:00 PM PDT
Stream them, wherever you are, at the link!
Exhaustive website devoted to all things Florent Schmitt: florentschmitt.com
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