Florent Schmitt

Lied et Scherzo Op 54

French composer Florent Schmitt (1870-1958) wrote the first version of Lied et Scherzo, Op. 54 for solo horn and wind nonet in 1910. It was composed to be the horn examination piece for the Conservatoire de Paris that year, and it was premiered by the context winner on July 11, 1910. It is a unique work, full of the mixture of late-German Romanticism and the harmonies of French impressionism that makes Schmitt difficult to classify. As was common for Schmitt's works, he created alternate versions featuring different instruments. Aside from the solo horn and wind nonet version, versions for horn and piano, cello and piano, and piano four-hands are also available. Instrumentation: 1+Picc.1+EH.2.2: 1.0.0.0: Solo Horn in set.