Hélène Grimaud
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
.
Biography
Grimaud was born in Aix-en-ProvenceAix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Although her autobiography Variations Sauvages suggests a
Christian upbringing, Hélène is descended from Italian
Italian Jews
Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living or with roots in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from the communities dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite.-Divisions:Italian...
-Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
from Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
on her mother's side, and from Algerian Jews on her father's side. She has stated that as a child she was often "agitated". She discovered the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
at seven. She entered the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
in 1982, where she studied with Jacques Rouvier
Jacques Rouvier
Jacques Rouvier is a French pianist. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Jean Hubeau, Vlado Perlemuter, and Pierre Sancan. He took two Premiers Prix : in piano performance and in chamber music .Rouvier was remarkably successful at piano competitions in his youth...
. In 1985 she won first prize at the Conservatory, and the Grand Prix du Disque
Grand Prix du Disque
The Grand Prix du Disque is the premier French award for musical recordings. The award was inaugurated by l'Académie Charles Cros in 1948 and offers prizes in various categories. The categories vary from year to year, and multiple awards are often made in any one category in the same year...
of the Académie Charles Cros for her recording of the Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
Piano Sonata No. 2. In 1987, she launched her professional career with a solo recital in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and a performance with the Orchestre de Paris
Orchestre de Paris
The Orchestre de Paris is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs most of its concerts at the Salle Pleyel.-History:In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, conductor Charles Munch was called on by the Minister of Culture,...
under Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
.
In 1991, at age 21, Grimaud moved to Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
, to be near a boyfriend who taught bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
. In 1997, she settled in Westchester County
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, north of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. After some time spent in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, she currently resides in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. She has a passion for wolves, which she studies and raises. She now divides her time between her musical career and the Wolf Conservation Center, which she co-founded with her former companion, photographer J. Henry Fair
J. Henry Fair
J Henry Fair is an American photographer, environmental activist, and co-founder and director of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, NY...
. She also experiences synesthesia
Synesthesia
Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
, where one physical sense adds to another, in her case seeing music as color.
She performed at the Last Night of the BBC Proms in London in September 2008, playing the piano part of Beethoven's Choral Fantasia
Choral Fantasy (Beethoven)
The Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, Op. 80, was composed in 1808 by Ludwig van Beethoven.-Background, composition, and premiere:...
.
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.”
Discography
On DenonDenon
is a Japanese electronics company that was involved in the early stages of development of digital audio technology, while specializing in the manufacture of high-fidelity professional and consumer audio equipment. For many decades, Denon was a brand name of Nippon-Columbia, including the Nippon...
- RachmaninoffSergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
Piano Sonata No. 2Piano Sonata No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36, is a piano sonata in B-flat minor composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1913. Rachmaninoff revised it in 1931, with the note, "The new version, revised and reduced by author." It has three movements:#Allegro agitato#Non allegro...
(1986) - ChopinFrédéric ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
Ballade No. 1, LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
Après une Lecture de Dante, Schumann Sonata for Piano (1987) - SchumannRobert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
KreislerianaKreislerianaKreisleriana, Op. 16, is a composition in eight movements by Robert Schumann for solo piano, subtitled , written in April 1838. Dedicated to Frédéric Chopin, it is a very dramatic work and is considered to be one of Schumann's finest compositions....
, Brahms Piano Sonata No. 2Piano Sonata No. 2 (Brahms)The Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp minor, Op. 2 of Johannes Brahms was written in Hamburg, Germany in 1853, and published the year after. Despite being his second published work, it was actually composed before his first piano sonata, but was published later because Brahms recognized the importance...
(1989) - BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Piano Sonata No. 3 & 6, Klavierstücke (1992) - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900...
, RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
Piano Concerto (1993)
On Erato
Erato Records
Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 to promote French classical music. In 1992 it became part of Warner Bros. Records. In 1999 Erato launched a subsidiary Detour Records....
- Schumann Piano ConcertoPiano Concerto (Schumann)The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54, is a famous Romantic concerto by Robert Schumann, completed in 1845.Schumann had begun several piano concerti before this one: In 1828, he had begun one in E-flat major; from 1829-31 he worked on one in F major, and in 1839, he wrote one movement of a concerto...
, Richard StraussRichard StraussRichard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
Burleske (1995) - Brahms Piano Pieces Op. 116–119 (1996)
- GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
Piano ConcertoConcerto in F (Gershwin)Concerto in F is a composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and orchestra which is closer in form to a traditional concerto than the earlier jazz-influenced Rhapsody in Blue...
, Ravel Piano Concerto (1997) - Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, is a work for piano and orchestra composed by Johannes Brahms in 1858. The composer gave the work's public debut in Hanover, Germany, the following year.-Form:...
(1998)
On Teldec
Teldec
The Teldec is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group.-History:...
- BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Piano Concerto No. 4Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.-Musical forces and movements:...
, Piano Sonata No. 30Piano Sonata No. 30 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109, composed in 1820, is the antepenultimate of his piano sonatas. In it, after the huge Hammerklavier sonata, Op. 106, Beethoven returns to a smaller scale and a more intimate character...
, Piano Sonata No. 31Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)The Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110, by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1821. It is the central piano sonata in the group of three opp. 109–111 which he wrote between 1820 and 1822, and the thirty-first of his published piano sonatas....
(1999) - Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900...
, Prelude Op. 32/12, Études-Tableaux Op. 33/1, 2 and 9, Variations on a Theme of Corelli (2001) - BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Piano Concerto No. 4Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, was composed in 1805–1806, although no autograph copy survives.-Musical forces and movements:...
, Schumann Piano Concerto, Op. 54 (2003)
On Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
- Credo, comprising John CoriglianoJohn CoriglianoJohn Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
: Fantasia on an Ostinato, BeethovenLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
: Piano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest"Piano Sonata No. 17 (Beethoven)The Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2, was composed in 1801/02 by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is usually referred to as "The Tempest" , but this title was not given by him, or indeed referred to as such during his lifetime; instead, it comes from a claim by his associate Anton Schindler...
, Choral FantasyChoral Fantasy (Beethoven)The Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus, and Orchestra, Op. 80, was composed in 1808 by Ludwig van Beethoven.-Background, composition, and premiere:...
, Arvo PärtArvo PärtArvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
: Credo (2003) - Chopin | Rachmaninoff (2005)
- BartókBéla BartókBéla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
The Piano Concertos (on the thirdPiano Concerto No. 3 (Bartók)Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3 in E major, Sz. 119, BB 127 is a musical composition for piano and orchestra. The piece was composed in 1945 by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók during the final months of his life. It consists of three movements.-Context:...
) (2005) - Reflection (2006)
- Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"Piano Concerto No. 5 (Beethoven)The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, by Ludwig van Beethoven, popularly known as the Emperor Concerto, was his last piano concerto. It was written between 1809 and 1811 in Vienna, and was dedicated to Archduke Rudolf, Beethoven's patron and pupil...
, Piano Sonata No. 28Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven)Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, was written in 1816 and was dedicated to the pianist Baroness Dorothea Ertmann. This piano sonata runs for about 20 minutes and consists of four movements:...
(2007) - BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Various (2008) - Resonances, Mozart: Sonata No. 8Piano Sonata No. 8 (Mozart)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310/300d, written in 1778 is a sonata in three movements:#Allegro maestoso, common time#Andante cantabile con espressione, F major, 3/4#Presto, 2/4A typical performance takes about 22 minutes....
, Berg: Sonata op.1Piano sonata (Berg)Alban Berg's Piano sonata , Op. 1, was published in 1910, but the exact date of composition is unknown; sources suggest that it was written in 1909. The Sonata is Berg's only piano work to which he gave an opus number.-History:...
, Liszt: Sonata in B minorPiano Sonata (Liszt)The Piano Sonata in B minor , S.178, is a musical composition for solo piano by Franz Liszt, published in 1854 with a dedication to Robert Schumann. It is often considered Liszt's greatest composition for solo piano. The piece has been often analyzed, particularly regarding issues of form.-...
, Bartok: Romanian Folk DancesRomanian Folk DancesRomanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56, BB 68 is a suite of six short piano pieces composed by Béla Bartók in 1915. He later orchestrated it for small ensemble in 1917 as Sz. 68, BB 76....
. - Mozart Piano Concerto No. 19Piano Concerto No. 19 (Mozart)The Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, KV. 459 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was written at the end of 1784: Mozart's own catalogue of works records that it was completed on 11 December...
, Piano Concerto No. 23Piano Concerto No. 23 (Mozart)The Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major is a musical composition for piano and orchestra written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was finished, according to Mozart's own catalogue, on March 2, 1786, around the time of the premiere of his opera, The Marriage of Figaro...
, Ch'io mi scordi di te?Ch'io mi scordi di te?Ch'io mi scordi di te? ... Non temer, amato bene, K. 505, is a concert aria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for soprano, piano obbligato and orchestra, composed 1786 in Vienna; it is often considered to be one of his greatest compositions in this genre.-History:...
(with Mojca ErdmannMojca ErdmannMojca Erdmann is a German soprano who is particularly associated with the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.Born in Hamburg, Erdmann sang in the children's chorus of the Hamburg State Opera in her youth. As a teenager she began studying singing seriously with soprano Evelyn Herlitzius before...
, soprano).
On Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
- 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
- Bassoon Music Of The Americas, Composers on Bassoon Music Of The Americas: Alvin Etler, Waldir Azevedo, Jose Siqueira, Magda Santos/Pó, Pixinguinha, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Willson Osborne. Jeff Keesecker - bassoon & Hélène Grimaud - piano (2002)