Helene Grimaud

Central to Hélène Grimaud's first live album for Deutsche Grammophon is the significance she finds in the slow movement of the Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488, of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This movement is a touchstone for her, insofar as she regards it as the most sublime music, "where you find the real Mozart." She has also stated, "Even if this movement were all we had, that would be enough." Because of the emphasis Grimaud places on this poignant Adagio in F sharp minor, listeners may be tempted to cut to the chase and skip the other tracks to hear her interpretation.

Hélène Grimaud’s new album MEMORY can be thought as an invitation to mindfulness.

Hélène Grimaud's particular fascination with the music of German composers - from Beethoven, the father of musical Romanticism, through Schumann and Brahms to the late Romanticism of Strauss - is reflected in this 2-CD set, which also embraces music by Rachmaninov, Ravel and Gershwin. A pianist who combines intellectual and philosophical rigour with a readiness to take risks as she strives for expressive freedom, Grimaud is motivated by a profound personal belief in the power of music: "Music changed my life - it gave me a sense of purpose and direction. It saved me."