In Memoriam: Ruth Laredo
Pianist Ruth Laredo, known for landmark recordings of Scriabin and Rachmaninoff, died on May 25 at her apartment in New York. She was 67.
 Ruth Laredo |
Ms. Laredo, a judge at the 2004 International Piano-e-Competition, played her last concert on May 6 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And, only two days after the attack on the World Trade Center, Ms. Laredo celebrated the 25th anniversary of her Alice Tully Hall debut with a recital there. It was the opening concert of the 2001 Lincoln Center season, and Ms. Laredo addressed the audience beforehand, saying: "It was important for me to play. Great music gives us spiritual sustenance and gives us hope. It is in that spirit that I play tonight."
Ms. Laredo was a dynamic performer concerned with texture and color. Born in Detroit in 1937, she attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and made her orchestral debut in 1962 in a program led by Leopold Stokowski conducting the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Pierre Boulez 12 years later. A solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall took place in 1981.
“The last time I saw Ruth perform was with the Jupiter Symphony in New York last December. She played beautifully on a Yamaha CFIIIS and was very happy after the concert,” recalled Yamaha Artist Services Director Stan Zielinski. “Ruth mentioned how much she enjoyed playing our piano at the Maverick Festival and how eager she was to visit our new artist services facility. She will be greatly missed in the New York classical music scene.”
In the 1970's she recorded two pioneering and acclaimed sets: the entire Scriabin piano sonatas, for the now-defunct Connoisseur label, and the complete solo repertory of Rachmaninoff, on seven LP's for CBS Masterworks.
Bernard Holland, a Times music critic, wrote of her playing of Scriabin's music: "Ms. Laredo's sensuous, beautifully controlled playing caught its mad and slightly evil quality."
Ms. Laredo held a faculty position at the Manhattan School of Music.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
Ms. Laredo was a dynamic performer concerned with texture and color. Born in Detroit in 1937, she attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and made her orchestral debut in 1962 in a program led by Leopold Stokowski conducting the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Pierre Boulez 12 years later. A solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall took place in 1981.
“The last time I saw Ruth perform was with the Jupiter Symphony in New York last December. She played beautifully on a Yamaha CFIIIS and was very happy after the concert,” recalled Yamaha Artist Services Director Stan Zielinski. “Ruth mentioned how much she enjoyed playing our piano at the Maverick Festival and how eager she was to visit our new artist services facility. She will be greatly missed in the New York classical music scene.”
In the 1970's she recorded two pioneering and acclaimed sets: the entire Scriabin piano sonatas, for the now-defunct Connoisseur label, and the complete solo repertory of Rachmaninoff, on seven LP's for CBS Masterworks.
Bernard Holland, a Times music critic, wrote of her playing of Scriabin's music: "Ms. Laredo's sensuous, beautifully controlled playing caught its mad and slightly evil quality."
Ms. Laredo held a faculty position at the Manhattan School of Music.
For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Piano Division, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; or e-mail infostation@yamaha.com.
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