Florent Schmitt
Florent Schmitt is a Compositeur French, born with Blâmont (Meurthe-et-Moselle) the September 28th 1870 and died with Neuilly-sur-Seine the August 17th 1958.
Biography
Florent Schmitt studied with Nancy then with the Conservatoire of Paris where he was pupil of Massenet and Fauré. In 1900, it accepted the First Large Prix of Rome for its cantata Sémiramis . In 1904, Schmitt completed its imposing and thundering Psaume XLVII , which was worth to him success during its creation. For Norbert Dufourcq, “the appearance in 1906 of Psalm XLVII was the most important event of the French music since Pelléas. ” Humor cow of the Wild boar of the Ardennes , free and frank, even hard and its joke in Satie were also expressed in mystifying titles: Continuation in rubbles , Çançunik , Continuation without spirit of continuation , Civil servant MCMXII musical inaction , free Sonata in two connected parts , Habeyssée , etcMarked in its youth by the movements Symbolist and impressionist as much as by Chopin, it developed an opulent esthetics, pressed on a scientist counterpoint. Use of effects of primitive percussion the apparent one before the letter with research of the modern Russian music. Its art without half-tone was with the image of its character whose caustic spirit excluded the benevolence by no means. In 1924, creation with the Opera of the ballet the Small Elf firm-the eye revealed a delicious painter of childhood while Antoine and Cléopâtre (1920), Salammbô (1925) and the sumptuous Oriane and the Prince of Amour (1938) devoted the orientalist inspired and the symphonist heir to traditional pure. Member of the Company of Apaches, Schmitt was cofounder in 1909 of the Independent Musical Société with Maurice Ravel, Gabriel Fauré, Emile Vuillermoz, Louis Aubert, Charles Koechlin, and Jean Huré. He was the director of the Conservatoire of Lyon of 1921 with 1924, chronicler of the newspaper Time of 1929 with 1939.
Rather hard personality, independent, enemy of the dogmas and the systems, with a rare fruitfulness due to its long life, it composed in all the fields except the opera. Its vigorous music, characterized by a rhythmic dynamism and a sensual melody line, has a rich harmonic language and suave of traditional inspiration as well as romantic. The exoticism appreciated at the time feels in several of its compositions, the such lyric Symphonic poem the Tragedy of Salome , dedicated to Igor Stravinski and honoured by Diaghilev. These two works were appreciated with its Quintette for piano and cords . Its Second Symphony was created by Charles Münch a few weeks before its death.
Florent Schmitt was named member of the Académie of the Art schools in 1936, accepted the musical Grand Prix of the town of Paris in 1957. But this major artist of the 20th century which left a monumental work is today still ignored French general public. Its great independence and its weak attachment with re-elected and the follower of modes are not foreign with this fact. Today, one can consider that it strongly marked the history of the French music of first half of the 20th century, as well as Debussy, Ravel and Roussel. He is recognized like one of the pillars of the musical repertory for the quartets of saxophones.
Polemic
Apart from his musical activity, Florent Schmitt is also known for his positions favorable to the Nazi Germany, in the Thirties then under the Occupation. He was member of the Comité France-Germany, created in 1935. He took part in a voyage of French musicians organized by the services of Joseph Goebbels, with Vienna, in December 1941. He was the copresident of honor of the musical section of the Groupe Collaboration as from December 1941.With the Release, the committed legal proceedings against Florent Schmitt for national unworthiness were classified without continuation. However, he was condemned within the framework of professional purification: the January 7th 1946, the National committee of purification of the men of letters, authors and type-setters pronounced against him a sorrow of prohibition to publish or make play its one one year duration old works, prohibition on the basis of on October 1st 1944.
Florent Schmitt explained his voyage in Germany by the will to re-examine his son, prisoner in a Stalag. He justified his membership of the Collaboration Group by his concern of defending the French music.
The engagement of Florent Schmitt in collaboration led the Board of directors of the college of Saint-Cloud to propose that the establishment, which bore the name of the type-setter since 1968, is renamed name of Alexandre Dumas. The District council of Île-de-France accepted this demand for 2005 after ten years of polemics.
Honors
Knight about Léopold, Commander of the Crown of Romania, Schmitt was member of the independent musical Company since 1909, of the royal Academy of Belgium since 1932 and chaired the National company of music since 1938. In 1952, it was promoted Commandeur of the Légion of honor. In 1957, one year before its death, it is lived to decree the musical Grand Prix of the town of Paris.
Principal works
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orchestral Music:
- Chamber music:
- vocal Music:
- Ballet S:
To discover Schmitt
Psalm 47, the Tragedy of Salome by the New Philharmonic orchestra and choruses of Radio France under the direction of Marek Janowski.
N.B. : this recording combines the advantages of a recognized artistic quality, a technical good quality and one generous duration. However, the present suggestion reflects only the opinion of a wikipedist and could not be regarded as an indisputable reference, as well with regard to the choice of work as that of its interpretation.
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