French pianist and pedagogue Marie-Catherine Girod (b. 1949) is Professor of Piano at Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris, the famous conservatoire founded by Alfred Cortot in 1919. Although she excels at core classical repertoire (recording, for instance, Mendelssohn’s complete catalogue of piano music), she is renowned for resurrecting, performing and recording works by neglected composers. 

Marie-Catherine Girod

A particular penchant is for French Romantics who have disappeared from view, including Gabriel Dupont, Vincent D’Indy, Maurice Emmanuel, and organists Abel Decaux, and Charles Tournemire among many others. This work, in addition to teaching, a busy concert schedule and a catalogue of 40-odd recordings has earned Girod appointments to the ranks of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and Officier de l’Ordre du Mérite. 

For this latest recording on boutique French label Mirare, Girod turns her attention to female composers, a logical and inevitable progression for an artist with a long-standing interest in overlooked repertoire. The focus on French music remains (about half) and most of the selections on Régards de Femmes (translated here as Female Perspectives) are from the 19th and 20th centuries.