Born in Blâmont, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Sept 28, 1870
Died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, Aug 17, 1958
“Throughout his life, Schmitt was valued for his independent spirit and refusal to be identified with any school or group. In a time when many composers embraced Impressionism, his music, albeit influenced by Debussy, was admired for its energy, dynamism, grandeur, and virility, for its union of French clarity and German strength… Schmitt was considered a pioneer during his lifetime, rejected by some and embraced by others for a style that influenced and helped prepare for later innovations by Stravinsky, Ravel, Honegger and Roussel.”
Grove Music Online1
- Florent Schmitt was encouraged by his parents to pursue music from an early age. In his late teens, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied under Massenet and Fauré.
- Historical context: The year that Schmitt joined the Conservatoire, 1889, was the same year that the Eiffel Tower was completed and the Moulin Rouge opened.
- Schmitt won the Prix de Rome in 1900 for his secular cantata, Sémiramis, and spent the next four years composing in the Italian city.
- Schmitt wrote an extensive catalog of works during his long life, which makes how little he is known today relative to his contemporaries (Debussy and Ravel) even more surprising.
- One of the distinctive features of Schmitt’s music was his love of unequal time signatures (5/8, 7/8, etc.). He is best known for his orchestral music.
- In addition to composing, Schmitt was also a music critic, which caused him to make many enemies through his reviews and articles.
- In everyday life, Schmitt didn’t shy away from making his presence or opinions known, for better or worse.
- “A story goes that some poor pianist, engaged in disentangling Schmitt’s counterpoint, had to cope with the composer’s voice from the back of the hall shouting, ‘It’s a C Sharp!'”2
Learn More
Biography of the composer (with many interesting images)
Biography from Hyperion Records
Sources
- Jann Pasler and Jerry Rife, “Schmitt, Florent,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed July 26, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000024960.
- Roger Nichols, “Composer of the Month: Florent Schmitt,” BBC Music Magazine Vol. 28, No. 12 (2020), 56-59.