Helene Grimaud

Hélène Grimaud is a pianist who defies feminine stereotypes. Her favored repertory has been Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Schumann, and Liszt, not the less muscular music of Mozart (which she didn't perform until she was 21 or record until 2010), Poulenc, or Chopin. Grimaud's lush sound and sweeping interpretations drew comparisons to such pianists as Martha Argerich and Jorge Bolet.

Known for her poetic expression and peerless technical control, French pianist Hélène Grimaud is one of the most sought-after artists performing with leading orchestras, in chamber music, and in solo recitals internationally and is an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist. A multi-faceted Renaissance woman with a deep dedication to her musical career, Hélène also nurtures passionate environmental, literary, and artistic interests.

​With her new album, Hélène Grimaud takes us to Salzburg, where she fascinatingly juxtaposes W. A. Mozart and the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937). Following on from her successful DG debut album "Credo", this innovative combination is typical of her approach and signals another new beginning.

Three concertos, three orchestras, three soloists, one conductor–an interesting concept, and it works. These are very fine performances by any standard. The First Concerto at first seems not to have quite as much rhythmic heft as say, Kocsis or Ashkenazy, but a glance at the score reveals Pierre Boulez and Krystian Zimerman to be exceptionally attentive to Bartók’s dynamic markings. The first fortissimo arrives five bars after figure 11, exactly as written, but it would be a mistake to typify this reading in any way as soft-edged. Bartók himself, as a pianist, was noteworthy for stressing his music’s lyricism and folk-orientation. So does Zimerman, and the combination of this quality with Boulez’s typical clarity makes for an unusually probing reading.

Together with photographer Mat Hennek, French star pianist Hélène Grimaud, comes up with a multimedia concert project at the Grand Hall of Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie. Grimaud's virtuous piano performance is accompanied by Hennek's highly praised photo series "Woodlands", which depicts genuine portraits of trees, Grimaud's piano recital includes works by romantic and impressionistic composers. They are connected by seven "Transitions", written exclusively for Grimaud by British composer and DJ Nitin Sawhney. The motives of Hennek's Woodlands series create an extraordinary visual backdrop, which in combination with Grimaud´s pianistic "impeccable clarity and articulation" (Hamburger Abendblatt) and the Elbphilharmonie's splendid acoustics grants a concert experience of a special kind.

For her latest studio album, Hélène travels to Salzburg where she creates a fascinating juxtaposition between the eternal W A Mozart and the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (b 1937) Hélène has long had a passion for Silvestrov’s music, which some call post modernist or even neoclassical .."Like Arvo Pärt Silvestrov’s music is harmonic, which far from being a weakness, is an enlightenment in its own right and very powerful in its simplicity", says Hélène The composer’s own words hint at why this is for her so intriguing I do not write new music My music is a response to and an echo of what already exists".