Aline van Barentzen ∙ The Munich Recitals 1956-1960 ∙ 2CD

Aline van Barentzen acquired the majority of her piano education at the Paris Conservatoire and the Royal Imperial Academic College of Music in Berlin. As a teenager, she already performed with renowned orchestras in both cities, such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Blüthner Orchestra, Orchestre des Concerts Colonne, Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux, and Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup. She renounced her American citizenship in 1939 to become a French citizen, where she had already been residing. Despite regularly performing in the United States, she never received invitations to collaborate with esteemed orchestras such as those in Cleveland, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, or New York. Nevertheless, she achieved greater recognition in neighboring Canada and across Europe, where she held frequent recitals. Furthermore, she served as a professor of piano at the Paris Conservatoire from 1954 until her retirement in 1968. Her responsibilities in this role significantly reduced her availability for concert engagements. Barentzen also served multiple times as a jury member at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich and recorded radio broadcasts for Bayerischer Rundfunk. These previously unreleased radio recordings are now being presented for the first time by Meloclassic.