Florent SCHMITT (1870-1958)
Piano Music
Ombres, Op. 64 (J’entends dans le lointain: Large et soutenu [13:14];
Mauresque: Modèré [5:41]; Cette ombre, mon image: Calme [10:08])
Mirages, Op. 70 (Et Pan, au fond des blés lunaires, s’accouda: Un peu
attardé [7:06]; La Tragique Chevauchée: Emporté et violent [8:24])
La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50 bis (version for piano by the composer):
(Part I: Prélude: Lent [10:18]; Danse des perles: Assez vif [4:38]; Part II:
Lent – Les Enchantements sur la mer – Danse des éclairs – Danse de l’effroi
[17:03])
Vincent Larderet (piano)
rec. 8-10 July 2009, Potton Hall, Westleton, Suffolk, UK
NAXOS 8.572194 [76:45] 
Florent Schmitt composed extensively for piano throughout his long career.
The three works collected here are often regarded as among his most important
contributions for the instrument. They date from the middle of his life: La
tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50, 1912-13 (based on the original orchestral
score of 1907 and its revision, which was premiered in 1911), Ombres,
Op. 64, 1917, and Mirages, Op. 70, 1921.
While some of Schmitt’s earlier compositions have affinities with the styles
of some of his contemporaries, these scores reveal Schmitt’s unique voice.
He had already proved himself in the orchestral version of La tragédie,
a work which conveys the familiar story of Salome, the daughter of Herodias,
whose dancing for Herod Antipas earned her an open-ended favour from the king.
The result was the infamous demand for the head of the prophet John the Baptist,
something her mother requested to silence the preaching against her infidelities.
The drama was familiar at the time from the popularity of both Oscar Wilde’s
play, which was written in French, and Richard Strauss’s setting of that drama
as an opera (1905). Schmitt focused on the aspect of dance rather than retelling
the drama. His Tragédie de Salomé was conceived as a series of stylized
dances focusing on the well-known “Dance of the Seven Veils” also found in
Strauss’s opera.
Effective as an orchestral work, the transcription for piano allowed the composer
to focus on the musical content and leave off, for the moment, his distinctive
scoring. Even so, the writing for piano is not without interest especially
in the use of figures to simulate orchestral effects. Also notable is his
implementation of ranges on the keyboard to convey a span of timbres. As a
result, this work is idiomatically pianistic without being derivative of the
orchestral score. It is convincing in this solo piano version which Vincent
Larderet delivers masterfully. He sets up the piece with an evocative reading
of the Prélude by making use of the tempo (Lent) to bring out
the various details of the score. The remainder of the first part consists
of the “Danse des perles” (“Dance of pearls”) which works well in projecting
the kind of decadence associated with the story in its various recent expressions.
The second part is more complex, with its series of dances interconnected
in a single movement building to a conclusion. Here Larderet is also effective
in bringing his insights into each of the pieces. He then seamlessly leads
the listener from one section to another. At times the music sounds as if
its origins were with the piano and that this is not a transcription of a
work for another idiom. This is testimony to Larderet’s interpretative craft.
The other two works are similarly impressive. Ombres consists of three
movements which are essentially character pieces. Larderet treats each movement
individually. Those unfamiliar with Schmitt’s piano music might sample the
first, a relatively short piece entitled “Mauresque”, which gives a sense
of the composer’s approach to the instrument. He allows the textures to guide
his interpretation, as well as the others in the set, something that works
quite well in the more sustained conception of the first piece “J’entends
dans le lointain”. This more extended piece is complemented by the last “Cette
ombre, mon image”, which contains some expressive dissonances here delivered
to good effect.
The other piece on this recording, Mirages, consists of two movements,
and is similar in style. Dissonant chords and angular lines work well in the
pianistic idiom. Mastery of the score emerges as strongly as in the other
works on this recording. The music suggests a live performance, an aspect
of the recording that is laudable in itself. At the same time, the sense of
improvisation that Larderet brings to various passages is effective in conveying
his solid reading and persuasive interpretations.
James L Zychowicz
Persuasive interpretations of these challenging works.