Hélène Grimaud

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Hélène Grimaud
Grimaud at a rehearsal at La Roque-d'Anthéron Festival, 2004
Born
Hélène Rose Paule Grimaud

(1969-11-07) 7 November 1969 (age 55)
Aix-en-Provence, France
EducationConservatoire de Paris
OccupationClassical pianist
Parent(s)Claude Grimaud, Josette (Cirelli) Grimaud
Websitehelenegrimaud.com

Hélène Rose Paule Grimaud (born 7 November 1969) is a French classical pianist and the founder of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York.

Early life and education

Grimaud was born in

Grand Prix du Disque of the Académie Charles Cros for her recording of the Rachmaninoff Piano Sonata No. 2
.

She experiences synesthesia, where one physical sense adds to another, in her case seeing music as colour, which helps her with memorising music scores.[8]

Career

Grimaud has established herself not only as a virtuoso pianist but also as a committed wildlife conservationist, a human rights activist, and as a writer.

She began her piano studies at the local conservatory with Jacqueline Courtin before going on to work with Pierre Barbizet in Marseille. She was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire at just 13 and won first prize in piano performance three years later. She continued to study with György Sándor and Leon Fleisher until, in 1987, she gave her well-received debut recital in Tokyo. That same year, renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim invited her to perform with the Orchestre de Paris.

She debuted in 1995 with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Claudio Abbado and with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur in 1999. It was around this time that Grimaud established the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York.

Her love for the endangered species was sparked by a chance encounter with a wolf in northern Florida; this led to her determination to open an environmental education centre. "When you look at a wolf in the eye, you establish a connection," Ms. Grimaud said. "Hearing about wolves and seeing a wolf are two very different things. It’s about accomplishing the goals of outreach — building a bridge of understanding to our counterparts in the wild — and environmental conservation. If you call me an activist, I’m happy."[9] In addition, she is also a member of the organisation Musicians for Human Rights, a worldwide network of musicians and people working in the field of music to promote a culture of human rights and social change.

Grimaud has also published four books that have appeared in various languages. Her first, Variations Sauvages, appeared in 2003. It was followed in 2005 by Leçons particulières, and in 2013 by Retour à Salem, both semi-autobiographical novels. In 2023 she published Renaître.

She tours extensively as a

recitalist. A committed chamber musician, she has also performed at the most prestigious festivals and cultural events with a wide range of musical collaborators, including Sol Gabetta, Rolando Villazón, Jan Vogler, Truls Mørk, Clemens Hagen, Gidon Kremer, Gil Shaham and the Capuçon brothers. Her contribution to and impact on the world of classical music were recognised by the French government when she was admitted into the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur
(France's highest decoration) at the rank of Chevalier (Knight).

Grimaud has been an exclusive

Echo Klassik Award
.

Her early recordings include Credo and Reflection (both of which feature a number of thematically linked works); a Chopin and Rachmaninov Sonatas disc; a Bartók CD on which she plays the Third Piano Concerto with the

Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Claudio Abbado
.

In 2010 Grimaud recorded the solo recital album Resonances, showcasing music by

Brahms piano concertos, the First recorded with Andris Nelsons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Second with Nelsons and the Vienna Philharmonic
, appeared in September 2013.

This was followed by Water (January 2016), a live recording of performances from tears become… streams become…,

Gluck
’s "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" – previously unreleased on CD/via streaming.

Grimaud's next album, Memory, was released in September 2018. Exploring music's ability to bring the past back to life, it comprises a selection of evanescent miniatures by

Valentin Silvestrov
which, in the pianist's own words, "conjure atmospheres of fragile reflection, a mirage of what was – or what could have been".

For her 2020 recording, The Messenger, Grimaud has created an intriguing dialogue between

Mozart. "I was always interested in couplings that were not predictable," she explains, "because I feel as if certain pieces can shed a special light on to one another."[12] She is joined by the Camerata Salzburg
in Mozart's Piano Concerto K466 and Silvestrov's Two Dialogues with Postscript and The Messenger – 1996, of which she also performs a solo version. Completing the programme are Mozart's Fantasias K397 and K475. The Messenger was released on 2 October 2020.

In 2023 Hélène released Silent Songs paying homage to Ukraine’s greatest living composer with an album of songs by Valentin Silvestrov. Joined by the young baritone Konstantin Krimmel, winner of the 2018 International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition, Grimaud presents the gentle music and quiet nostalgia of some of the most exquisitely beautiful poetry ever written.

Following Silent Songs is For Clara - another album on Deutsche Grammophon on which she pairs Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana with music by his protégé, Johannes Brahms. This includes a set of songs in which Brahms distilled his unrequited love for Schumann’s widow Clara, and for which Grimaud is partnered by baritone Konstantin Krimmel.

Forthcoming highlights of Grimaud’s '23/'24 schedule include performances of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra across Europe (October/November) and with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (October) as part of her season-long residency at the Philharmonie Luxembourg; Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin (December); recitals in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and Toronto (January/February); and performances with Camerata Salzburg (with whom she embarks on a new artistic partnership in the 2023-24 season) of the Schumann Piano Concerto at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Dresden Music Festival, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival (together with Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto) and Évian Festival (May/June). Following on from the success of Silent Songs, she and Konstantin Krimmel will perform songs from Silvestrov’s cycle in Luxembourg and Dortmund (June).

In 2024, film director David Serero released on Amazon Prime Video his film "Between The Notes" about Hélène Grimaud through a series of personal interviews and archives. The film, featuring Yannick Nézet-Seguin, Bryn Terfel, Alain Duault, Jacques Rouvier and more, is screened in movie theaters. The film is produced in partnership with Deutsche Grammophon and is awarded at several film festivals worldwide.[13][14][15][16]

Critical reception

Critics have praised Grimaud's willingness to reinterpret works and take chances, and compared her to Glenn Gould:

Grimaud doesn't sound like most pianists: she is a

rubato artist, a reinventor of phrasings, a taker of chances. "A wrong note that is played out of élan, you hear it differently than one that is played out of fear," she says. She admires the "more extreme players . . . people who wouldn't be afraid to play their conception to the end." Her two overriding characteristics are independence and drive, and her performances attempt, whenever possible, to shake up conventional pianistic wisdom. Brian Levine, the executive director of the Glenn Gould Foundation, sees in Grimaud a resemblance to Gould: "She has this willingness to take a piece of music apart and free herself from the general body of practice that has grown up around it."[8]

Personal life

In 1991, at age 21, Grimaud moved to

Luzern, Switzerland.[17]

She has a passion for wolves and wolf conservation. She now divides her time between her musical career and the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York.[18][19]

Grimaud lives with her partner, the German photographer Mat Hennek, in California and Upstate New York.[20][8]

Honours

Discography

On Denon[A]

On Erato

On Teldec

On Deutsche Grammophon

On Philips

  • Schumann Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 105, Gidon Kremer violin and Helene Grimaud piano. Recording date: 7/1989. Release: Lockenhaus Festival 1982–1992 A Decade of Music-Making (1997)

On ACA Digital Recording, Inc

Bibliography

  • Variations sauvages (2003, published in English as Wild Harmonies)[27]
  • Leçons particulières, Robert Laffont (2005)
  • Retour à Salem, Albin Michel (2013)
  • Renaître, Albin Michel (2023)

See also

Notes

  1. ^
    The complete Denon recordings have been released in a box by Brilliant Classics.

References

  1. ^ Qui est qui en France?, 47e édition (2016), p. 1041.
  2. Newspapers.com
    .
  3. ^ Rockwell, John (29 May 1994). "Sacre Bleu! Don't Call Her French, Or Even Female". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  4. ^ Interview with Pianist Hélène Grimaud French pianist saved by music - and wolves by Peter Culshaw, The Telegraph, 11 Nov 2002
  5. ^ Luc Antonini, 100 aixois, qui sont-ils ? d'où viennent-ils ? qu'ont-ils fait ?, par Luc Antonini (Septèmes-les-Vallons 2012)
  6. Newspapers.com
    .
  7. Newspapers.com
    .
  8. ^ a b c Max, D. T. (7 November 2011). "New Yorker Profile: Her Way, A pianist of strong opinions". New Yorker. New York City. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  9. ^ La Gorce, Tammy (26 March 2009). "Running With Wolves? No; Playing Piano for Them, Yes". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (10 December 2014). "Harmonic Ripples in a Watery World". The New York Times.
  11. Vulture
    .
  12. ^ Deutsche Grammophon. "Hélène Grimaud releases new album – The Messenger". Deutsche Grammophon.
  13. ^ https://www.amazon.com/Between-Notes-H%C3%A9l%C3%A8ne-Grimaud-Documentary/dp/B0DGLZM99C
  14. ^ "Review – 'Hélène Grimaud: Between the Notes' Directed by David Serero - IndieWrap". 10 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Between the Notes…".
  16. ^ "Hélène Grimaud releases for Clara – Extended Edition - Hélène Grimaud".
  17. ^ La-Croix.com. "La Croix - Actualité à la Une en France, en Europe et dans le Monde". La-croix.com. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  18. ^ James R. Oestreich, "A Pianist Harmonizes With Wolves". The New York Times, 5 November 2006.
  19. Newspapers.com
    .
  20. ^ Kühne, Roman (17 October 2017). "Bilderkonzert: "Türen öffnen für ein neues Publikum"". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). Luzerne. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  21. ^ Award 16 May 2008, Journal officiel de la République Française, 17 May 2008.
  22. ^ Decoration - 5 April 2015
  23. ^ Oestreich, James R. (27 January 2011). "Recording as a Road to Recovery". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  24. Newspapers.com
    .
  25. neue musikzeitung
    . Regensburg. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  26. ^ Church, Michael (3 October 2023). "For Clara (Krimmel/Grimaud)".
  27. Newspapers.com
    .

Other sources

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