Search - Renie, De Maistre, Turban :: Harp Works / Trio for Harp Violin & Cello

An important recording

plasticphysical | Chicago USA | 09/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Henriette Renié, much to the disapproval of her teachers, gave up a career as a pianist to master the harp. And master it she did indeed. She became one of the foremost authorities of the instrument, authoring the massive two-volume , transcribing the still-definitive version of Debussy's and achieving a level of viruosity nearly unheard of at the time.It is perhaps the degree of the difficulty involved in performing her works the accounts for the relative lack of recordings from her catalogue. In fact, the , included here is often called the most difficult work in the harp repertoire. Xavier de Maistre, however, proves - with astonishing results - that he is more than up to the challenge. All the requisite qualities of a world-class virtuoso are evident in de Maistre's playing, technical perfection, sensitive interpretation and communication flow with such ease! You'd be hard-pressed to find a more impressive recording by harpist than this one.Renié's own music is perhaps comparatively conservative for the time, but is steeped in a post-romanticism that brings to mind what Berlioz might have written if he were a harp virtuoso. Dark Franco-Germanic harmonies prevail in the often-programmatic pieces and provide a dramatic foundation for the dazzling technical displays contained within.An exceptional CD of tremendous value to the catalogue of both harp recordings and early 20th-century French music."