FLORENT SCHMITT Fanfare from Antony and Cleopatra
FLORENT SCHMITT Fanfare from Antony and Cleopatra
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1870 in Meurthe-et-Moselle , France ; died 1958 in Neuilly-sur- Seine , France
• Schmitt was born in northeast France where he studied music with a local composer . He then enrolled at the Paris Conservatory , where he studied with Fauré and Massenet and won the Prix de Rome when he was 20 years old .
• In addition to composing , Schmitt worked for a time as a music critic , though he proved to be quite controversial ( sometimes shouting criticisms from his seat at performances !).
• During his lifetime , Schmitt was one of the most performed French composers during the first half of the 20th century . Later in life , he came under scrutiny for his history as a Nazi sympathizer and supporter of the Vichy government .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1920
MUSIC Maurice Ravel ’ s La valse
LITERATURE Claude McKay ’ s Spring in New Hampshire and Other Poems
ABOUT THE PIECE
• Schmitt wrote Antony and Cleopatra in 1920 as incidental music to a performance of Shakespeare ’ s play by the same name .
TECHNOLOGY The first transatlantic two-way radio broadcast is made
HISTORY The 19th Amendment is ratified
BSO SESSIONS | MAY-JUNE 2021
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