Categories
20th Century French

RENIÉ, Henriette

Black and white photo of Henriette Renie

Born in Paris, Sept 18, 1875
Died in Paris, March 1, 1956

[on-ree-ET ren-YAY]

  • While Henriette Renié is best remembered as a virtuoso harpist, she was also an accomplished composer and educator.
  • Renié began studying the harp as a young child (her father created extensions to help her reach the pedals!). At just 11 years old, she won first prize for harp at the Paris Conservatory, where she studied with Alphonse Hasselmans.
  • She made her debut as a composer in 1901 with her Concerto pour harpe. As a composer, Renié would write almost exclusively for her instrument and consequently helped establish the harp as a concert instrument.1
  • As a teacher, Renié codified a method for playing the harp that is still used today.2

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Short Biography

Sources

  1. “Henriette RENIÉ,” Bru Zane Mediabase (2023), accessed October 28, 2025, https://www.bruzanemediabase.com/en/exploration/artists/renie-henriette.
  2. “RENIÉ, Henriette,” Donne-UK, accessed October 28, 2025, https://donne-uk.org/author/renie-henriette-2/.

Pieces