A new recording of Florent Schmitt’s orchestral works receives a warm critical appraisal in The Classic Review, which highlights the program’s mix of premiere recordings and newly minted orchestrations alongside a second recording of the composer’s Symphonie concertante (Op. 82).
what the reviewer notes
The Classic Review emphasizes that much of the repertoire on the disc is new to the catalogue, including a premiere recording of Çançunik (Op. 79) and first recordings of Schmitt’s orchestrations of two piano pieces, Trois Danses (Op. 86) and Stèle pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas (Op. 87 No. 1). The review calls particular attention to the balance and engineering, saying the sound supports Schmitt’s “opulent orchestrations.”
“the work is in every respect a ‘symphony’.” — Nicolas Southon’s booklet note
The critic opens discussion with the Symphonie concertante, noting the piece’s large-scale symphonic character and a harmonic language that can turn unexpectedly dissonant in louder passages. Those ferocious sections, the review says, alternate with softer, lyrical writing that reveals Schmitt’s gift for color and lyricism.
comparisons and listening notes
- The review rejects a close kinship with Szymanowski’s Fourth Symphony and instead finds a stronger connection with Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie, particularly in the alternation of high-volume intensity and calmer lyricism.
- Celesta use in the slow second movement is singled out as an example of Schmitt’s orchestral color.
- The critic recommends repeated listening, writing that Schmitt’s music “requires the listener’s full attention” yet rewards further hearings.
The Classic Review also compares this issue favorably with an earlier recording by Hüseyin Sermet and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo under David Robertson (Auvidis Valois), saying the new performance and engineering supersede that earlier release.
Readers interested in modern French orchestral repertoire, orchestration and recorded sound are likely to find the disc notable both for its newly recorded pieces and for the production values called out by the review.
