With his correct value judgement about the ‘music worker’ Mahler at his debut as director of the Viennese Court Opera, Franz Schmidt, who worked there as a cellist at the time, proved his right, future-oriented insight; with his tear-jerker for string orchestra, the intermezzo from the opera Notre Dame, he gained a reputation which unfortunately overshadows the rest of his oeuvre.
In everyday language, it is remarked that a certain performance is a ‘revelation’. A Bible book is also called revelation – that of John. Schmidt has incorporated it in his oratorio Das Buch mit den sieben Siegeln. This late romantic work has its charming side thanks to a mix of archaic fugues and refined orchestration.
The fact that Schmidt was a student of Bruckner can be heard in his best known symphony, the fourth. When performed well, it is certainly a significant work on its own terms.
(Source: Musicalifeiten.nl)