Messages

[anyone]

I, for one, am very pleased when anyone performs the works of Florent Schmitt.  I agree that Yan-Pascal Tortelier's recording of Le Palais hante is very good.  And I'm pleased that Leon Botstein/American Symphony and Georges Pretre/Monte-Carlo have also recorded that piece.  As for the Antony & Cleopatra, the suites have been recorded twice before. 

But that's still very sparse representation in recordings, which is what makes these Buffalo recordings such a welcome development.

What kind of quality can we expect?  Well, having traveled to Buffalo and seen the A+C suites performed in concert on two separate dates earlier this month, I have every expectation that the recording will be top-notch.  Stylistically, I prefer JoAnn Falletta's interpretation to the two existing recordings (Segerstam/Southwest German Radio and Mercier/Lorraine Symphony) in a variety of ways.  Plus, the music was extremely well-rehearsed, with very tight ensemble and great solo passages -- the BPO sounding clearly better to my ears than either of the recordings, which have their share of "fudged" passages in particularly gnarly spots in the score.

Bottom line, music lovers shouldn't worry about the quality of the upcoming recording.  Again, let's focus on the positive and be grateful for the musicians who are paying attention to this challenging but wonderful music.

The complete ballet music for "Oriane et le Prince d'amour" was recently issued by Forgotten Records, in a 1956 concert broadcast by the ORTF Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Pierre Dervaux.  (http://forgottenrecords.com)  This 50+ minute work, which also features a tenor soloist, was the final "orientalist" composition of Schmitt's (it was written in 1931).  The recording is well-worth hearing, even if the orchestra is closely miked and there is some extraneous audience noise. 

There was a commercial recording made of a 20-minute all-orchestral suite from the ballet, on the Cybelia label.  But that CD, which is long out-of-print, didn't do the music any great favors. 

As for whether a new commercial recording of either the suite or the complete ballet is in the offing, don't hold your breath.  I spoke with the head of Timpani Records and asked about this score; he informed me that due to the expense of doing it, there are no plans.  I do know that the American conductor JoAnn Falletta has studied the score -- perhaps she or another one of Florent Schmitt's most ardent enthusiasts (Lionel Bringuier, Stephane Deneve, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, Sascha Goetzel, Leon Botstein ...) might give it a whirl someday.

Everyone is going to have their own personal preference(s) for recordings of this music.  I think I own about a half-dozen, beginning with the John Ogden one on Angel/EMI (on LP).  Ohlsson and Hamelin are very good recordings as well.  My own particular favorite, if forced to choose, would be the Peter Donohoe/Sir Mark Elder recording on EMI.  FWIW.

I notice the "notoriety" of Mr. Heymann in the various responses to the original post.  Assuming this one comes to fruition(!), JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing and recording the "Antoine et Cleopatre" Suites (1920), along with "Le Palais hante" (1904), for NAXOS early next year.  For those who might wish to actually see some of Schmitt's music performed in the concert hall, there is schedule and ticket information on the BPO website (www.bpo.org).

Also, the complete ballet music for "Oriane et le Prince d'Amour" (1933) was issued just last week by Forgotten Records, a French-based CD-on-demand label.  It's taken from a 1956 live concert broadcast by Pierre Dervaux and the ORTF Orchestra + Chorus.  This is the full ballet -- nearly an hour of music compared to the suite which is less than 20 minutes (once available on Cybelia).  The filler item is the Symphony #2, in a 1960 concert performance by Jean Martinon and the ORTF.  I have heard from European friends that the recording quality is decent, but I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail.

On a personal note, the music of Florent Schmitt has been a particular passion of mine for decades, and I started a blog about the composer and his music in 2012.  So far, I have published about 60 articles on various works, interpreters/performers (including some interviews), links to music clips, and so forth.  There are some real rarities that are very, very fine pieces of music, from a catalogue that includes 138 opus numbers plus additional works.  If you're interested in exploring further, go to http://florentschmitt.com and use the search box to find particular topics, or you can just scroll down the Home Page to browse the various posts in reverse chronological sequence.  I hope it's useful and worthwhile information.

To my knowledge, the Calvet EMI recording is of the 2nd Movement only (Lent).  Interestingly, it has the composer himself playing the piano part, which gives it an added measure of interest (it dates from the 78-rpm ear originally).  But to have three "modern" recordings of this music available is indeed great.

Finally, the complete "Oriane" ballet music is being released as of June 2014 ... but it's from a 1956 live concert recording by Pierre Dervaux and the ORTF Orchestra + Chorus.  It can be ordered directly from the label, Forgotten Records.  The companion piece on the CD is Schmitt's Symphony #2, in a 1960 live performance by Jean Martinon and the ORTF.

I haven't heard the disk (ordered, not arrived yet), but a European friend of mine has, and he reports that the recording quality is decent and the interpretations strong.

The "Oriane" Suite on Cybelia is less than 20 minutes of music, whereas the complete ballet is nearly an hour.  So there should be many more interesting musical moments to savor.  (I was never particularly thrilled with the quality of the performance on the Cybelia recording, either.)

A friend of mine just told me about this discussion topic, so I'm coming to the party a tad late.  I have some very good news to report in the way of new recordings of Florent Schmitt that are newly issued, or are in the works for the coming year. 

Just last week, Forgotten Records, a French-based print-on-demand CD label, issued Schmitt's complete ballet "Oriane et le Prince d'Amour" (1933) --  1956 broadcast performance by the ORTF Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Pierre Dervaux.  This piece has never been commercially recorded (the suite has -- just once, and is long out-of-print), but the complete ballet is more than twice the music (nearly an hour).  I've heard from a friend in Europe that the recording quality is very good.  The "filler" item on this disk is a 1960 concert performance of the Symphony #2, Schmitt's penultimate work (1957), with Jean Martinon and the ORTF Orchestra.  Again, I've heard that the performance is mighty fine.  I have ordered my copy of the CD but it hasn't arrived in the mail yet.

I notice that several people have praised the Timpani recording of Schmitt's "Antoine et Cleopatre" Suites.  In February, the same label and performers released the premiere recordings of Schmitt's ballet "Le Petit elfe ferme-l'oeil" (1923), a 45-minute work that's the most glitteringly brilliant ballet music you could ever hope to hear.  The filler item is another super piece called "Introit, recit et conge" (1949), played with tremendous vigor and passion by French cellist Henri Demarquette.  (Man, I wish that man would come to the U.S. to perform; we're the only continent besides Antarctica that hasn't seen him in concert yet.)

Other interesting news is that JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing and recording the "Antoine et Cleopatre" suites, along with "Le Palais hante" (1904) in early 2015.  You can read up on the program dates and ticket information on the BPO website (www.bpo.org), for those who may wish to see an actual live performance of Schmitt's music (pretty rare here in the U.S.).  I know I'll be there.

Speaking personally, Florent Schmitt's music has been a particular passion of mine for decades, and in 2012 I began a blog devoted to the composer and his music.  So far, I've published around 60 articles on various pieces of music, performers (including some interviews), links to music clips and so forth.  Many of the works cited above have been profiled in individual posts.  For those interested in learning more about this fascinating composer, including some of his lesser-known compositions, I invite you to check out the blog at http://florentschmitt.com.  You can use the search button on the landing page to search for any specific work, performer, and so on.  I hope you'll find it an interesting and helpful resource.