Florent Schmitt
Biography
Florent Schmitt (28 September 1870, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France- 17 August 1958, Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French composer.
He began composition lessons with local composer Gustave Sandre, before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 19. While at the Conservatoire, he studied with composers like Gabriel Faure and Theodore Dubois, winning the Prix de Rome in 1900.
Throughout his life, he composed for most major forms of music, except for opera. His style was primarily impressionistic, similar to that of Debussy, but also included elements of Wagner and Richard Strauss. His Piano Quintet in B minor, composed in 1908, helped to establish his reputation, but today his most famous compositions are La tragedie de Salome and Psaume XLVII (Psalm 47). It has been speculated that Schmitt’s involvement in World War I brought him into contact with military bands, which influenced his compositions to included pieces for such ensembles.
Works for Winds
- Dionysiaques (1913)
- Dionysiaques (ed. Hauswirth) (1913/2012)
- Dionysiaques (arr. Duker) (1913/1975)
- Hymne funèbre (1899/1933)
- Le Camp de Pompée (1921)
- Lied et Scherzo (1910/1988)
- Marche du 163ème regiment d'infanterie (orch. Dondeyne) (1916/)
- Quatuor de Flûtes (1949)
- Quatuor pour saxophones (1948)
- Sélamlik (1906)
- Sélamlik (ed. Hauswirth) (1906)
Resources
- Florent Schmitt. Wikipedia. Accessed 8 February 2016
- Miles, Richard B. 2000. Teaching Music Through Performance in Band. Volume 3. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 652.
- windbandlit's blog