SARI BIRO
Hungarian-American pianist (1912 - 1990)

Sari Biro is reported to have said "I believe that a performer must be a clear channel for the composer's message and not allow his or her own personality to interfere with the composer's intentions... A performer should extend, not absorb."

She came to the United States in 1939 and embarked on a very succesful concert career, performing often on the radio and on television.  After her New York debut in May of 1940, the New York Times wrote: "Sari Biro must be reckoned among the foremost women exponents of the keyboard of the time."  Her repertoire consisted of numerous contemporary works by composers such as Bartók, Menotti, and Milhaud.  When she obtained her American citizenship in 1949, the State Department named her the most distinguished new citizen of the year.

Some of the recordings below are not of very good quality,  Nonetheless, her art shines through.  We have a marvelous performance of the Kabalevsky 3rd piano sonata, an important mid-century work all too rarely heard in recital.  And for the pure enjoyment of her technical prowess, feast your ears on the "Danse d'Olaf" by Pick-Mangiagalli.

Sari Biro had played for Bartók as a child.  Later he heard her play the Hungarian Peasant Dances, some of which can be heard below, and was delighted with her performance, singling out her lovely singing tone. 

It is interesting to note, and I have raised this specter before in comments about the Chopin dance forms and Gershwin's 3 Preludes, that while Sari Biro is a stunning pianist and plays the piece by Albéniz beautifully, she does not fully capture the authentic Spanish rhythm of this piece.  I continues to make me wonder if a pianist who did grow up hearing the indigenous music of his country can ever really do justice to a type of music in which the authentic rhythm depends on subtle perversions of the rhythm as it is notated in the score. 

Finally, there are two recordings of concerto movements with orchestra, slim pickings when one considers she once played nine concerti in three days at Carnegie Hall, but enough, I think, to give us a good idea of Sari Boro's capabilities as a soloist.

Rameau  Gavotte and Variations from Suite 4 in A minor

recorded in 1957