Rosita Renard plays Bach's Partita No.1 in B-Flat Major BWV 825

Chilean pianist Rosita Renard playing Bach's Partita No.1 in B-Flat Major BWV 825 at her now legendary January 19, 1949 Carnegie Hall recital.
This was the opening number of what was to be the pianist's triumphant return to the US after years of living back home in South America. However, she soon after became sick and died a matter of months later.
It is fascinating that both Renard and Dinu Lipatti chose the same two opening compositions for what was to be their final appearances around the same time - this Bach Partita and Mozart's A Minor Sonata - both having had no contact with one another (Lipatti gave his first performance of this programme in Bern a week after Renard's Carnegie Hall recital).
Renard's playing couldn't be more different than Lipatti's now legendary performances (both his studio and live accounts), and it is also a truly mesmerizing and moving interpretation filled with extraordinary vitality. She plays most of the movements at a brisk pace with both sumptuous pedalling and refined dynamic shadings - a truly bold and individual account, like the rest of the recital.
The complete recital is still available on the VAI label, supplemented by some of her commercial discs:
www.vaimusic.com/product/1028...
For more details about Renard and a more detailed exploration of this recital, here is my feature about the pianist:
www.thepianofiles.com/the-res...
If you wish to support The Piano Files, please consider membership on Patreon: / thepianofiles

[@Sofronichrist]

In my opinion it is the most beautiful, the finest, the most delicate but also the most complex and colourful interpretation of the first partita. What Rosita Renard (a student of Martin Krause, like Edwin Fischer and Claudio Arrau) does here is just fabulous! Thank you very much !

[@goscinnydyrygent]

Genius. Every bar is alive. It's all coherent as it goes along, and yet you don't know for sure what she will do with the next phrase - and you want to find out. Impossible to explain how some musicians manage to hold your attention riveted on notes that are so familiar....but Renard is definitely one of those who can.

[@mariaelenahartung]

That whole recital is a big eye opener and, if I may, ear opener too. Listen to her Variations Sérieuses by Mendelssohn.

[@butterflybeatles]

It's great to learn about old -- but new, for us -- great artists.

[@mariaelenahartung]

I haven't heard this recital in 6 years or more. She was an amazing artist. I love this Partita. Thank you.

[@claudio7448]

Exciting performance , thank you for posting it

[@ThePianoFiles]

So glad you like it. Check the other recordings in the feature that I linked in the descriptive text - her Chopin Etudes are truly stunning!

[@claudio7448]

I just did and I agree with you , these Chopin etudes are a treat for the ears.A recital that deserves to be heard again and again.

[@user-sk4kd7ob2b]

Благодарю! Очень понравилось! Всего Вам доброго!

[@time8871]

Another nice new find for me through this channel. Lots of good info about the performers included with the videos and in the comments section too. I like that program - Bach, Mozart, Ravel and Debussy. My top 4 composers right there.

[@ThePianoFiles]

And Chopin!! Be sure to check her Chopin, that's the highlight for me (along with the Mendelssohn). So glad you found some performances you enjoy here!

[@ChocloManx]

@@ThePianoFiles She totally elevates the Mendelssohn variations!! the whole concert is incredible

[@MrKTaskov]

Star performance, whatever that!

[@micaelabonetti949]

Magnifica artista. Uno rimane col fiato sospeso, vien guidato di sorpresa in sorpresa! Che meraviglia 🙏

[@curaticac5391]

What a tragic coincidence, Mark! Given the circumstances, it seems to me that this rendition is more expressive than Lipatti's. There is an observation by a listener herein about the fast tempo of the Allemande. Was that incorrect or unusual? Lipatti also played it fast. However, the Courante following that sounds extremely fast, almost borderline to her technical ability. I personally like it, and I believe that it may sound like a different piece if it was played slower. But I am not an authority by any means.

[@ThePianoFiles]

This is what makes a performance more than a performance and instead an actual interpretation: a personal perspective and 'take' on how the music could be expressed. The matter of tempo is only one such factor but it's significant. I find the way she plays the faster movement is almost how one might hear it on the violin, with similar inflexions... it's definitely faster than I would choose, but it is a fascinating perspective to my ears. I certainly like a number of radically different interpretations of the same work and while in general I am more aligned with Lipatti's studio version (the Gaveau piano he used at his last recital didn't serve him as well), I adore Renard as well!

[@gemeni0]

Бессмысленная беглость и не к месту виртуозность.

[@user-hq9zb6on6k]

Прекрасное исполнение, живое, мощное и вполне изысканное. Липатти, конечно, лучшее. Но она здесь очень хороша. Любите медленную безэмоциональную игру, не слушайте это.

[@ettoregelli6834]

Si Genio hai ragione. Sono tempi incomprensibili ed è un vero peccato xchè il talento di questa pianista è straordinario

[@christopherczajasager9030]

Allemande played incomprehensively... there is o n e Corrente....ridiculous tempo

[@JanWeinhold001]

I totally agree, nevertheless gorgeous piano playing. Many colleagues forget what an Allemande is in this piece. Bach's notation is quite subtle concerning harmonic progression and so on......

[@MrJDWillard]

yes you are right!.....yet....... it such a pleasure to hear this. Even at this tempo there is much subtlety in her performance. She might flunk her jury and win hearts nevertheless :)