Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix [1] Mendelssohn :: Rosita Renard at Carnegie Hall

One of the Great Pianists of Our Century

Alex Scriabin | Memphis, TN | 02/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"And unfortunately this is her only set of recordings. The main thing of interest is the complete concert recorded at Carnegie Hall on January 19, 1949. She had been living for years in obscurity and was persuaded by her students to perform in New York. Thank God above she did, for this is truly one of the greatest concerts ever recorded. First, her Bach Partita #1 in B, the most popular of Bach's six, is played with unbelievable speed and dexterity. It's the most exciting recording of this piece I've ever heard, and her tone is unbelievable. These pices are, after all, dance pieces, and under Renards hands, Bach's original intent fully springs to life. The speed with which she performs the third movement, the courante, is overwhelming, yet her control keeps this movement taut and spirited. Her sarabande is also quite fast, and purists will probably get a bit touchy here. Still, this is playing from another time, a time when Bach playing wasn't so pedantic. Her originality in this piece cannot be overstated.Her Mozart sonata reminds me a bit of Lipatti's performance of this work. Again, the speed and color are unrivaled, but her playing is always lyrical and brilliant interpretively. The next thing I'd like to mention are her Chopin etudes. They are truly some of the most unique recordings of these pieces, though she only plays nine of them. Her E flat op 10 no 11 is flowing and lush, and the e minor's middle section is lyricism incarnate with perfect balance between the left hand melody and the right hand accompaniment in the upper octaves of the piano. Her op 25 no 8 is fast and spirited, though I prefer Cortot's recording for this piece. Still her Chopin reminds me of Cortot's because of its speed, lyricism, rubato, and romantic temperament. The op 25 no 4 in a minor is a tempestuous gallop, the chromatic op 10 no 2 a wry, witty and amazingly clear (this is not an easy one to play at all!) performance. The op 25 no 2 is probably one of the (if not the) fastest recording of this piece in history. It's probably her crowning achievement with the etudes. You can here the left hand's broad quarter note triplets just as clearly as the rights triplets, and many pianists view the left hand here as just a mere accompaniment. Her performance reveals a lot of the subtleties and harmonic ingenuity in this piece. The next, galloping op 25 no 3 is played beautifully, full of enery and drive, with some unique interpretive interplay between the two hands. Her sense of variation even in this small piece is quite astonishing, for she plays two similar passages with a completely different tonal emphasis each time. Her op 10 no 4 etude is fast, furious, and brilliant. The Ravel and Debussy are quite remarkable, and her last encore, the chopin op 59 mazurka I actually prefer over horowitz's recording of this same piece. Hers is so subtle and colorful- like no other performance I've ever heard of this harmonically and technically challenging dance. All in all, Rosita Renard should be reassessed. She is known only to a small number of collectors and hardcore piano recording buffs. It's unfortunate, because her vision is intense, colorful, and approaches the spiritual. This is playing in the grand tradition, and this artist should not be overlooked by anyone who cares deeply about the art of the piano."

Revelation

Alex Scriabin | 06/14/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A sensitive and technically accomplished pianist on a level with her junior Chilean compatriot, Claudio Arrau, Rosita Renard gave this Carnegie Hall recital shortly before her untimely death. We are indeed fortunate it was recorded, for it contains many felicities, and these are apparently this pianist's only extant recordings. This is elegant, tasteful and timeless playing."

Most invigorating!!

SwissDave | Switzerland | 09/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have nothing to add to the reviews here other than to emphasize that Rosita Renard's playing completely transcends "jaw-dropping" - which it is, but not in the modern virtuoso sense (something to admire, but that eventually leaves me cold), no, this is some of the most invigorating piano playing I've ever heard. Yes, albeit perfectly tasteful and elegant, believe it or not, it is fun. It's the kind of playing that I believe would bring (including new!) audiences back to the concert hall for the right reasons, if only artists like her existed - as virtuosic as she is, Renard always draws the attention to the music. I collect piano recital discs, and I'm not exaggerating when I say there is none better than this. Sound quality may be an issue for some (acetate disc groove noise, occasional coughing), but what's relevant, the piano tone (even the audience noise) conveys a sense of reality and, yes, sonic "beauty" that's rare for the vintage, no doubt thanks in part to the extraordinary colourfulness of the playing itself, as well as a fine remastering job by Ward Marston.



Greetings from Switzerland, David."