Marcel Rominger

“Marcel Rominger’s CD impresses from start to end. The Bach is rendered beautifully, with an understanding that is often lost in bringing the composer’s work to the modern piano. The opening Prelude is at once exuberant and considered, while the Allemande and Sarabande perfectly capture Bach’s poignant introspection.

The intricacy of the Courante, Gavotte and Gigue is carried off with diamond accuracy, rounding off a performance that is equally polished, considered and characterful.

Rominger’s rendition of Beethoven’s ‘Appassionata’ is one of the highlights of the CD. His lyrical interpretation of the 1st Movement is simply wonderful, displaying a dynamic range that is the hallmark of an accomplished performer and a first-rate recording.

The allegro ma non troppo is performed with brilliance – the ideal showcase for Rominger’s technical and musical maturity. He makes the technical demands sound effortless, and in doing so gives a compelling and energetic performance.

This is a world apart from Liszt’s Two Concert Etudes, which is a delight of melodic escapism. In the Waldesrauschen the listener is drawn immediately into a performance that ends and begins with pure magic, while the impish Gnomenreigen is delivered with polish and conviction.

Finally, the Prokofiev Sonata. Here Rominger seems to revel in the harmonic exuberance of this beautiful and demanding work, grappling with the fortissimo passages and emerging as the clear victor.

In all, this is a stunning recording from a prodigiously talented musician. Highly recommended.”

“Opening the program, pianist Marcel Rominger produced beautifully paced renditions of Debussy’s La Fille aux Chevaux de Lin and La Cathedrale Engloutie. Later he brought a different sensitivity to Ravel’s Jeaux d’Eau.”

Marcel Rominger played to a capacity crowd at his recent debut at the renowned concert hall of BargeMusic in New York City on Saturday, March 25th. With his tall, slender 6′ 4″ frame, dark, handsome face, and large, full wave of striking black hair, we thought of Beethoven, Chopin and the great piano virtuoso, Franz Liszt. But Marcel is very down-to-earth, warm and engaging, as he articulately introduced each piece to the audience before sitting down to play. He generated a rousing degree of rhythmic excitement as he launched into Beethoven’s Sonata OP. 101 and the softer, quieter sections were expressed with a gentle lyricism. Marcel seems to have a very deep musical understanding of Austrian music, perhaps not so unusual for one of his background of a Brazilian mother and father from German Switzerland that once bordered the Austrian Hungarian Empire at the time of Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.

Marcel played Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues by Frederic Rzewski that required him to play melodically in part of the piece with his elbows, as the keys rumbled an increasingly louder escalation of notes, which sounded like the beginning eruptions of a volcano. He managed this difficult composition with a startling contrast of moods and feelings, which the audience immensely enjoyed.

Finally, Marcel treated the audience to Liszt’s Dante Sonata. Rarely, is this piece played with such splendid technical command, exquisite sensitivity, and beauty of tone that one audience member was heard to say, “It’s as if Liszt himself were here playing.” Indeed, if a movie were to be made of the young Liszt at the height of his powers, the romantic figure of Marcel Rominger would be an excellent choice.
As he ended his recital, the large audience sprang to their feet in standing ovation with thunderous applause