La Tragedie de Salome op.50

In 1907, Florent Schmitt composed the music for a "mimodrama" danced by Loïe Fuller, La Tragédie de Salomé. His score bursts with colour, energy and sensuality - and also with the oriental influences from his travels to Morocco and Constantinople, where he discovered the wailing dervishes. In the final scene, the heartbreaking "Chant d'Aïça" sounds, an oriental melody sung by a soprano. Although this music was bold and modern for the audience of 1907, it aroused the admiration of another composer, Igor Stravinsky, to whom Schmitt dedicated the Symphonic Suite, which he later developed from the work. Alain Altinoglu, who has been chief conductor of the hr-Sinfonieorchester since 2021, has chosen to record the original version of this milestone of early 20th-century French music. The charming Chant élégiaque in the version for cello and large orchestra from 1911 rounds off this programme.