Renée Chemet (1887-1977) was one of the most highly regarded French violinists in the early twentieth century. A frequent soloist throughout Europe and North America, she performed with such legendary conductors as Arthur Nikisch, Gustav Mahler and Fritz Steinbach in the major musical capitals of Berlin and Vienna. She first came to London to play the Symphonie espagnole with the Royal Philharmonic under Thomas Beecham in 1916, and made her American concerto début in Carnegie Hall performing the Saint-Saëns Third Concerto under Willem Mengelberg in 1921. Beloved by concert audiences, she was nicknamed ‘the French Kreisler’.

In May 1932 she travelled via Hawaii to China, Singapore and Japan. She was particularly admired in Japan where her concerts were attended by the Imperial Family, and she lived there for several years until the Second World War, when she returned to France.

Chemet recorded prolifically for the HMV label in the early 1920s, and her distinctive playing style, rich in portamento, was well captured by the early recording process. Among Chemet’s HMV recordings featured on this CD reissue are Tartini’s ‘Didone abbandonata’ Sonata, Lalo’s Concerto and Symphonie espagnole, Saint-Saëns’s Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, and Wieniawski’s brilliant A major Polonaise. Also included are charming but seldomly heard violin pieces by Simonetti, Chabrier and Grovlez.