FLORENT SCHMITT (1870-1958): Piano Quintet, Op. 51, Hasards for Piano Quartet, Op. 96.

Description: We imported a French Accord recording of the massive quintet back in 2000 or 2002 but this new release is the only one currently available. In only three movements but lasting almost 56 minutes, it can seem like a transcription of a symphony or, more to the point given its wildly virtuosic piano part, one of the large-scale piano concertos which appeared all over Europe at the time (1908). All imaginable emotions seem to be comprehended within it: tenderness and nostalgia as well as violence and despair while the scoring can range from voluptuous to ironic. Franck's huge quintet of 1879 may have been the progenitor of this French Romantic piano quintet tradition but Schmitt's is its apotheosis. And, showing his versatility, Hasards (1939) is a graceful, witty and sparkling exercise in neo-classicism. Christian Ivaldi (piano), Quatuor Stanislas.