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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