FABIENNE JACQUINOT
French pianist (b ca1927)

I know almost nothing about Fabienne Jacquinot. I know that she was a French pianist. I know that she was a student of Yves Nat, a pianist I have admired greatly since I came across some of his old French recordings in an out of the way New York record shop when I was in my teens. And I know, thanks to a handful of studio recordings, that her Schumann is very, very good. Beyond that, I have nothing to say other than that in this communication age of ours, it is incomprehensible to me that she and her life are such a well kept secret.

Fabienne Jacquinot's performances of the Honegger and Milhaud piano concerti are perfect and welcome examples of concerted works for piano and orchestra from the 20th century French repertoire that never make the programs of orchestral concerts on this side of the pond. And while we do have the rare pleasure of hearing the works of Saint-Saens, this deliciously French accented performance is a real treat. I must say that the conductor in these recordings has long been a favorite of mine.

Schumann  Davidsbündlertänze, Op 6

recorded in 1956