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Piano Recital / Renee Reznek

Reznek,Renee
Release Date: 04/03/2012 
Label:  Renee Reznek   Catalog #: 5637911008   Spars Code: DDD 
Number of Discs: 1 
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Notes and Editorial Reviews

RENÉE REZNEK PIANO RECITAL • Renée Reznek (pn) • RREZ 01 (56:59)


JANÁCEK On an Overgrown Path: Book I. DEBUSSY Preludes: Brouillards; Feuilles mortes; La puerta del Vino; “General Lavine” -eccentric; Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C. MESSIAEN Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Read more Jésus: Regard du Père; Regard de l’etoile; Regard de la Vierge. EARL Old Roses. STRAVINSKY Tango



Pianist Renée Reznek’s affinity for her chosen repertoire, maturity of conception, and superb technical command can be heard in every note of this highly polished, yet intimate, recital. “Recital,” a word that I believe was first used in a musical context by Liszt to compare his concerts to histrionic performances, is a most apposite term for Reznek’s way with these scores. Every subtlety of line and dynamic is exquisitely weighed, balanced, and declaimed so as to artfully play its part in the “drama.” These pieces don’t seek to overwhelm the listener with overt virtuosity, but rather to charm either through uninhibited sentiment (David Earl’s Old Roses ), atmosphere alternating with wit (Debussy), religious contemplation of the infinite (Messiaen), or by stimulating reassessment of a familiar form through juxtaposition with a “modern” sensibility (Stravinsky). Reznek’s Janá?ek is tender and lovingly redolent of the distinctive Czech ambiance. At the same time, she delineates the sophisticated touches that set these pieces apart from folk music. She is a colorist of “the first water:” listen to Brouillards for as close a musical evocation of fog as can be imagined or to the “starry” sounds in Messiaen’s Regard de l’étoile —but she wisely applies her brush with restraint. She’s receptive to Debussy’s humor (“General Lavine”-eccentric; Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C. ) while endowing La puerta del Vino with perfumed sensuousness. In other hands, Messiaen’s minimalist Regard du Père might lose definition, but Reznek’s concentration doesn’t waver. I’ve heard Stravinsky’s Tango attacked with more immediate sarcasm, but Resnek’s initially gentler approach doesn’t stint on that particularly 20th-century emotion as the piece unfolds. In short, this is a most welcome introduction to an excellent pianist whose playing is sure to bring further pleasure and insight with each new hearing.


FANFARE: Robert Schulslaper
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