Back to Transcriptions from French Radio this week. This time from a Radio recital by Monique Haas where she performs Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin. Haas has certainly been well regarded (and well recorded) as one of France's leading interpreters of 20th Century composers. Her recordings for Deutsche Grammophon are legendary and reissued many times. But as always, there is something different about a live performance versus one in controlled conditions with the luxury of re-takes and inserts and this one via the ORTF is just such a performance. It was recorded (as best as I can tell by labels and scribbling) circa 1950 which puts her right at the time her reputation as an authoritative interpreter of Debussy and Ravel was being cemented by the Press and her colleagues.
It's a wonderful performance by a legendary performer in a broadcast atmosphere.
Enjoy.
