Composer

French music is a matter close to Simon Gaudenz's heart – and at the same time, it forms a repertoire that is still too rarely the focus of attention in Germany. Its magic lies in its subtle distance: sounds like fleeting scents, shimmering plays of color, transparency, and rhythmic precision create soundscapes of enchanting beauty. In this spirit, André Caplet's delicate cantata "Tout est lumière" resonates, as does Ernest Chausson's heartfelt "Poème" and Maurice Ravel's concert rhapsody "Tzigane" – masterfully interpreted by Tianwa Yang.

EPSG:4326

Thursday concert № 3 »Parfums de lumière«

Volkshaus Jena

Inspired by the legend of The Firebird—a magical glowing bird from Slavic folklore—Stravinsky’s Firebird dazzles from first note to heart-pounding finale. It’s the music that made Stravinsky an overnight star, putting the world on notice that a genius had arrived. Soprano Angel Blue makes her Houston Symphony debut in Florent Schmitt’s beyond-epic Psalm 47, and a Julia Wolfe world premiere kicks off this celebratory, season-opening program.

Opening Weekend: Valčuha Conducts Stravinsky’s Firebird

Jones Hall

Keyboard Friends

Garth Newel Music Center

The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra kicks off the year with an original and captivating New Year's concert. Austria and France join hands in a festive celebration: traditional waltzes and polkas abound, complemented by the heartwarming music of Berlioz and Offenbach, creating a lively atmosphere. We applaud the bright sounds of Selina Ott, who shines in Henri Tomasi’s delightful Trumpet Concerto and engages in a spirited suite by Florent Schmitt with the orchestra. Together with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, led by conductor Lio Kuokman, we usher in the New Year on this musical journey from Vienna to Paris."

New Year's concert with Selina Ott

Queen Elisabeth Hall

"Oh, if only we had clarinetti!" the young Mozart once enthused, they made such a "wonderful effect". The hr Symphony Orchestra has six of them - and all of them can be experienced in this chamber music program, in all their splendor, facets and tones. In music from different centuries and eras, different styles, genres and schools, they can be enjoyed in every conceivable combination and dimension - like a multi-colored, shimmering kaleidoscope. A special kind of highlight not only for fans of chamber music.

Kaléidoscope de clarinettes

Bertramstraße 8

Experience intimate chamber music programs curated and performed by small ensembles of SF Symphony musicians

Chamber Music At Davies Symphony Hall

Davies Symphony Hall

### Event Description: Festival Finale - Cycles of Life

**Event:** Festival Finale: Cycles of Life  
**Date:** Sunday, September 1, 2024  
**Time:** 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM  
**Location:** Old First Concerts, 1751 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA, 94109, United States

**Overview:**
Join us for the grand finale of the San Francisco International Piano Festival, a celebration that brings the festival full circle with a special program of musical cycles that mirror those in nature. This event, presented in collaboration with Lieder Alive, will unite the glory of the voice with the wonders of the piano.

**Program Highlights:**

- **Claude Debussy's Six épigraphes antiques for piano duet:** This piece invokes the god Pan, gives voice to an anonymous tomb, conjures a mysterious Egyptian woman, and offers thanks for the morning rain before reprising Pan's invocation.
  
- **Gabriel Fauré's La Bonne Chanson Op.61:** Inspired by Emma Bardac, a celebrated French singer who later became Madame Claude Debussy, this passionate and life-affirming work weaves nine songs with subtly recurring motifs, creating an atmosphere of improvisation. The final song, "L'hiver a cessé," is one of Fauré's most inspired and ecstatic creations.
  
- **Florent Schmitt's Trois Rhapsodies Op.53 for two pianos:** A student of Fauré, Schmitt achieved a masterful blend of wit, infectious charm, and virtuosity in this work. Each rhapsody presents a larger-than-life tableau of national styles of the period: Française, Polonaise, and Viennoise.

**Performers:**
- **Kindra Scharich, mezzo-soprano**
- **Gwendolyn Mok, piano**
- **Jeffrey LaDeur, piano**

Celebrate the unity and joy of these wonderful compositions as we close out the seventh season of the San Francisco International Piano Festival. 

**Tickets and Livestream:**
Tickets are available for purchase, and the event will also be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person.

**Additional Information:**
For more details, visit the festival's official website or contact the organizers directly. Don't miss this enchanting evening of music that promises to be a fitting conclusion to a remarkable festival season.

Festival Finale: Cycles of Life

Old First Presbyterian Church

Glass’ Double Piano Concerto, written for these two artists, is a work in which soloists and orchestra weave a tapestry of sound in constant flux.

The Double Concerto for Two Pianos by Glass

Place des Arts

Join us for an enchanting evening of violin mastery as Alba Cristina Layana Izurieta takes the stage at the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. This special performance is scheduled for Sunday, April 21, 2024, at 8:30pm CDT, showcasing the talents of a Master of Music student under the guidance of Desirée Ruhstrat. Accompanied by pianists Nathan Canfield and Ohad Nativ, Alba will perform a captivating program including Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's Violin Concerto in G Minor, Op. 80, Henryk Wieniawski's Fantasia on Themes from Faust, Op. 20, and Florent Schmitt's Sonate libre, Op. 68.

This event is free and open to the public, offering a unique opportunity to experience the vibrant acoustics of the Galvin Recital Hall, located within the Ryan Center for the Musical Arts at 70 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL 60208. The hall, known for its stunning 40-foot glass wall views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline, along with its optimal acoustics provided by undulating walls of Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood covered with African moabi wood, promises an unforgettable auditory experience.

No tickets are required for this event, and it will also be available via live stream for those who cannot attend in person. Don't miss this remarkable display of musical talent and passion.

Alba Cristina Layana Izurieta, violin

Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall

Our resident ensemble of Princeton University performance faculty, distinguished guest artists and supremely talented students takes us back to January 14, 1914 France when Maurice Ravel’s Trois poèmes de Mallarmé, a sequence of three art songs based on poems by Stéphane Mallarmé for soprano, two flutes, two clarinets, piano, and string quartet, received its world premiere. The ensemble recreates the program of that concert, featuring works by Ravel’s French contemporaries.

Richardson Chamber Players

Alexander Hall

Reserve your seats today and enjoy unbeatable savings by subscribing to New World Symphony’s Saturday Two series. Starting at just $20 a concert, a Saturday Two subscription features unforgettable performances with Stéphane Denève, Michael Tilson Thomas, pianist Emanuel Ax, jazz pianist Aaron Diehl and 87 of the world’s best young musicians.

Denève and Isabel Leonard

New World Center

The BW Symphonic Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. Brendan Caldwell, presents their first concert of an exhilarating 2023-2024 season.

The ensemble has received the honor of being selected to perform at the 2024 Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) Professional Development Conference, and this concert offers a “first look” at some of the repertoire they will perform in Columbus this February.

Symphonic Wind Ensemble

Baldwin Wallace University

Walton’s overture paints a portrait of an English seafaring town in the early twentieth century, replete with peg-leg street fiddlers and rowdy taverns. The Elgar is soaring and wild, performed splendidly by Spain’s Asier Polo, while In Memoriam: Gabriel Fauré is a moving tribute to Schmitt’s teacher and mentor. Finally, Háry János tells the tale of the oft-embellished heroic exploits of a day-dreaming soldier.

Elgar & Kodály

Kleinhans Music Hall

This season, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt) once again brings its chamber music concerts to the Forum Kultur Heppenheim. In the historic Kursaal, hr solo flautist Sebastian Wittiber and hr oboist Michael Höfele, accompanied by pianist Maria Ollikainen, will present French chamber music for flute, oboe, and English horn. The concert features a selection of distinctive works from the circle of the extraordinary composer Lili Boulanger, who at the age of 19 became the first woman to win the prestigious Prix de Rome and tragically died far too young just a few years later.

Chant du soir

Forum Kultur Heppenheim e. V.

French chamber music for flute, oboe, and English horn. A concert full of distinctive works from the circle of the extraordinary composer Lili Boulanger, who at the age of 19 became the first woman ever to win the prestigious Prix de Rome and died far too young just a few years later. Lili Boulanger was a child prodigy without equal. At the age of five, she began her studies at the Paris Conservatoire, learning piano, violin, cello, harp, and organ. Her life was shaped by two themes: her exceptional talent and an early lung condition. When she won the Prix de Rome, she also received a scholarship for a three-year residency at the Villa Medici in Rome. Her doctors tried to dissuade her from the trip. But for her, there was no doubt: she had to have this experience. In the end, she left behind over 50 works, including chamber music, hymns, and choral works such as a cantata.

Composer

Florent Schmitt

Events

Upcoming events

Mar 1, 2026

Chant du soir · Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Mar 15, 2026

Chant du soir · Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra

Past events

Nov 13, 2025

Thursday concert № 3 »Parfums de lumière« · Jenaer Philharmonie

19 - 21 Sep, 2025

Opening Weekend: Valčuha Conducts Stravinsky’s Firebird · Houston Symphony

About

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