FLORENT SCHMITT (1870–1958)

COMPLETE ORIGINAL WORKS FOR
PIANO DUET AND DUO

THE INVENCIA PIANO DUO

“This CD set is undoubtedly among the most significant projects of our careers. Schmitt’s music has always enthralled us with its splendid colors, Gallic wit, spontaneity of expression, bold imagination, daring stylistic contrasts, rhythmic vitality and rich texture. We are very hopeful that these marvelous works will find their way into the standard repertoire. Looking back at this incredible journey, we think with gratitude of all those who have helped make this project a reality.”

– Andrey Kasparov & Oksana Lutsyshyn

About this Recording

Florent Schmitt stands alongside Debussy and Ravel as one of the most original and influential French composers of his time. Winner of the Prix de Rome in 1900, Schmitt wrote successfully in many forms but he was a formidable pianist who described his often rich and multi-staved scores as “fistfuls of piano”. His music for the instrument is colourful, filled with adventurous harmonic innovation, stylistic bravura and good humoured wit. This complete collection for piano duo and duet includes unpublished works and rarities.

The Invencia Piano Duo

The Invencia Piano Duo has won high critical acclaim for its compelling interpretations of a vast and diverse repertoire. Hailing from Armenian and Ukrainian families, Andrey Kasparov and Oksana Lutsyshyn were educated at the Moscow State Conservatory before moving to Indiana University’s School of Music in Bloomington to pursue advanced studies. They presently make their home in the United States and serve on the faculty at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Additionally, they are Artistic Co–Directors of the Norfolk Chamber Consort. Kasparov and Lutsyshyn are critically acclaimed recording artists. Both members of the duo are recipients of prestigious awards. Lutsyshyn was a prizewinner at the Vienna Modern Masters Third International Performers’ Recording Awards Competition in 1997 and the William Kapell International Piano Competition in College Park, Maryland in 1990. As a result of the latter, she made her début at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Kasparov won the Albert Roussel Prize at the Orléans International Piano Competition in 1998. In 1994 Kasparov gave the première of the newly discovered edition of Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 3, revised by the composer himself. In addition to his career as a pianist, Kasparov is an active composer whose works have been published and recorded by the Kompozitor Publishing House in Moscow and the Atlantic Music Artist Agency in Kiev, among many others. His awards include a prize from the Sergey Prokofiev International Composition Competition in Moscow in 1997 for his Piano Sonata No. 2.