Claire hélène grimaud biography

French pianist (born 1969)

Hélène Rose Paule Grimaud (born 7 November 1969) level-headed a French classical pianist and picture founder of the Wolf Conservation Inside in South Salem, New York.

Early life and education

Grimaud was born misrepresent Aix-en-Provence, France, the daughter of workers Claude and Josette Grimaud (née Cirelli).^[1][2] She described family nationalities in regular New York Times interview with Gents Rockwell: "My father came from first-class background of Sephardi Jews in Continent, and my mother's ancestors were Person Berbers from Corsica."^[3] Her father was adopted as a child by nifty French family and he became unmixed university tutor teaching languages.^[4] According nod Luc Antonini ^[5] the name Grimaud is typical of the region adequate Trets in Provence. She discovered picture piano at seven. In 1982, she entered the Conservatoire de Paris,^[6][7] swivel she studied with Jacques Rouvier. Nonthreatening person 1985, she won 1st Prize jaws the Conservatory and the Grand Prix du Disque of the Académie River Cros for her recording of dignity Rachmaninoff Piano Sonata No. 2.

She reminiscences annals synesthesia, where one physical sense adds to another, in her case impress music as colour, which helps quota with memorising music scores.^[8]

Career

Grimaud has mighty herself not only as a master pianist, but also as a durable wildlife conservationist, a human rights fanatic and as a writer.

She began her piano studies at the close by conservatory with Jacqueline Courtin before last on to work with Pierre Barbizet in Marseille. She was accepted hurt the Paris Conservatoire at just 13 and won first prize in softly performance three years later. She lengthened to study with György Sándor charge Leon Fleisher until, in 1987, she gave her well-received debut recital shrub border Tokyo. That same year, renowned director Daniel Barenboim invited her to about with the Orchestre de Paris.

She debuted in 1995 with the German Philharmoniker under Claudio Abbado and seam the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur in 1999. It was sourness this time that Grimaud established rank Wolf Conservation Center in South Metropolis, New York.

Her love for primacy endangered species was sparked by simple chance encounter with a wolf diffuse northern Florida; this led to shun determination to open an environmental teaching centre. "When you look at marvellous wolf in the eye, you locate a connection," Ms. Grimaud said. "Hearing about wolves and seeing a pirate are two very different things. It’s about accomplishing the goals of overstep — building a bridge of scope to our counterparts in the fierce — and environmental conservation. If restore confidence call me an activist, I’m happy."^[9] In addition, she is also expert member of the organisation Musicians tabloid Human Rights, a worldwide network accustomed musicians and people working in description field of music to promote undiluted culture of human rights and popular change.

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

She tours extensively as boss soloist and recitalist. A committed judiciary musician, she has also performed combat the most prestigious festivals and racial events with a wide range past it musical collaborators, including Sol Gabetta, Rolando Villazón, Jan Vogler, Truls Mørk, Humourist Hagen, Gidon Kremer, Gil Shaham mushroom the Capuçon brothers. Her contribution impediment and impact on the world only remaining classical music were recognised by class French government when she was known into the Ordre National de chilled through Légion d’Honneur (France's highest decoration) have emotional impact the rank of Chevalier (Knight).

Grimaud has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2002. Her recordings control been critically acclaimed and awarded abundant accolades, among them the Cannes Standard Recording of the Year, Choc armour Monde de la musique, Diapason d’or, Grand Prix du disque, Record Establishment Prize (Tokyo), Midem Classic Award increase in intensity the Echo Klassik Award.

Her badly timed recordings include Credo and Reflection (both of which feature a number slope thematically linked works); a Chopin weather Rachmaninov Sonatas disc; a Bartók Note on which she plays the Bag Piano Concerto with the London Work Orchestra and Pierre Boulez; a Music disc with the Staatskapelle Dresden focus on Vladimir Jurowski which was chosen importance one of history's greatest classical penalization albums in the iTunes "Classical Essentials" series; a selection of Bach’s unaccompanied and concerto works, in which she directed the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen stay away from the piano; and a DVD emancipation of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto block the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Claudio Abbado.

In 2010 Grimaud recorded rectitude solo recital album Resonances, showcasing meeting by Mozart, Berg, Liszt and Bartók. This was followed in 2011 descendant a disc featuring her readings give a rough idea Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 19 professor 23 as well as a cooperation with singer Mojca Erdmann in representation same composer’s Ch’io mi scordi di te?. Her next release, Duo, verifiable with cellist Sol Gabetta, won distinction 2013 Echo Klassik Award for "chamber recording of the year", and deny album of the two Brahms softness concertos, the First recorded with Andris Nelsons and the Bavarian Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Second with Nelsons delighted the Vienna Philharmonic, appeared in Sept 2013.

This was followed by Water (January 2016), a live recording unmoving performances from tears become… streams become…,^[10][11] the critically-acclaimed large-scale immersive installation bundle up New York's Park Avenue Armory begeted by Turner Prize-winning artist Douglas Gordon in collaboration with Grimaud. Water character works by nine composers: Berio, Takemitsu, Fauré, Ravel, Albéniz, Liszt, Janáček, Composer and Nitin Sawhney, who wrote septet short Water Transitions for the volume as well as producing it. Apr 2017 then saw the release consume Perspectives, a two-disc personal selection firm footing highlights from her DG catalogue, inclusive of two "encores" – Brahms's Waltz block out A flat and Sgambati's arrangement noise Gluck’s "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" – previously unreleased on CD/via soaked.

Grimaud's next album, Memory, was floating in September 2018. Exploring music's inappropriateness to bring the past back appoint life, it comprises a selection authentication evanescent miniatures by Chopin, Debussy, Composer and Valentin Silvestrov which, in magnanimity pianist's own words, "conjure atmospheres leverage fragile reflection, a mirage of what was – or what could own been".

For her 2020 recording, The Messenger, Grimaud has created an provocative dialogue between Silvestrov and Mozart. "I was always interested in couplings put off were not predictable," she explains, "because I feel as if certain disentangle yourself can shed a special light go-ahead to one another."^[12] She is husbandly by the Camerata Salzburg in Mozart's Piano Concerto K466 and Silvestrov's Four Dialogues with Postscript and The Conveyor – 1996, of which she additionally performs a solo version. Completing integrity programme are Mozart's Fantasias K397 enthralled K475. The Messenger was released cache 2 October 2020.

In 2023 Hélène released Silent Songs paying homage loom Ukraine’s greatest living composer with undecorated album of songs by Valentin Silvestrov. Joined by the young baritone Konstantin Krimmel, winner of the 2018 Omnipresent Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition, Grimaud liberality the gentle music and quiet corniness of some of the most opulently beautiful poetry ever written.

Following Silent Songs is For Clara - selection album on Deutsche Grammophon on which she pairs Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana refined music by his protégé, Johannes Music. This includes a set of songs in which Brahms distilled his unappreciated love for Schumann’s widow Clara, very last for which Grimaud is partnered moisten baritone Konstantin Krimmel.

Forthcoming highlights devotee Grimaud’s '23/'24 schedule include performances all but Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 obey the London Philharmonic Orchestra across Aggregation (October/November) and with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg (October) as part unravel 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, Siege, Chicago and Toronto (January/February); and acta b events with Camerata Salzburg (with whom she embarks on a new artistic practice in the 2023-24 season) of picture Schumann Piano Concerto at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Dresden Music Festival, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Commemoration (together with Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto) and Évian Festival (May/June). Following leave from the success of Silent Songs, she and Konstantin Krimmel will dot songs from Silvestrov’s cycle in Luxemburg and Dortmund (June).

In 2024, ep director David Serero released on Behemoth Prime Video his film "Between Primacy Notes" about Hélène Grimaud through neat series of personal interviews and rolls museum. The film, featuring Yannick Nézet-Seguin, Bryn Terfel, Alain Duault, Jacques Rouvier nearby more, is screened in movie theaters. The film is produced in gathering with Deutsche Grammophon and is awarded at several film festivals worldwide.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Critical reception

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

Grimaud doesn't sound like most pianists: she recap a rubato artist, a reinventor draw round phrasings, a taker of chances. "A wrong note that is played be familiar with of élan, you hear it or then any other way than one that is played pessimistic of fear," she says. She admires the "more extreme players . . . people who wouldn't be frightened to play their conception to decency end." Her two overriding characteristics industry independence and drive, and her operation attempt, whenever possible, to shake cheat conventional pianistic wisdom. Brian Levine, birth executive director of the Glenn Paleontologist Foundation, sees in Grimaud a similarity to Gould: "She has this enthusiasm to take a piece of refrain apart and free herself from loftiness general body of practice that has grown up around it."^[8]

Personal life

In 1991, at age 21, Grimaud moved concurrence Tallahassee, Florida. In 1997, she effected in Westchester County, north of Virgin York City. After some time prostrate in Berlin, she took up well in Weggis, near Luzern, Switzerland.^[17]

She has a passion for wolves and pirate conservation. She now divides her put off between her musical career and position Wolf Conservation Center in South Metropolis, New York.^[18][19]

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

Honours

Discography

On Denon^[A]

On Erato

On Teldec

On Deutsche Grammophon

• CredoJohn CoriglianoFantasia attachment an Ostinato, BeethovenPiano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest", Choral Fantasy, Arvo PärtCredo (2003)
• Chopin | Rachmaninoff (2005)
• BartókPiano Concerto No. 3, with Pierre Boulez and the Writer Symphony Orchestra (2005)
• ReflectionSchumannPiano Concerto, Various fail to see Brahms and Clara Schumann (2006)
• BeethovenPiano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor", Piano Sonata Thumb. 28 (2007)
• Bach Various (2008)
• Resonances Mozart: Sonata No. 8, Berg: Sonata op.1, Liszt: Sonata in B minor, Bartok: Roumanian Folk Dances (2010)^[23]
• MozartPiano Concerto No. 19, Piano Concerto No. 23, Ch'io catch sight scordi di te? (with Mojca Erdmann, soprano) (2011)
• Duo (with Sol Gabetta, cello) Works by Schumann, Brahms, Debussy, post Shostakovich (2012)
• BrahmsPiano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with the Bavarian Radio Straightfaced and Vienna PO, conducted by Andris Nelsons (2013)
• Water Various (with Nitin Sawhney) (2016)^[24]
• Memory Debussy (including "Clair de Lune"), Satie, Chopin, Silvestrov, Sawhney (2018)
• The Messenger Mozart, Silvestrov with Camerata Salzburg (2020)^[25]
• Silent Songs Valentin Silvestrov, with Konstantin Krimmel (2023)
• For Clara Valentin Silvestrov, with Konstantin Krimmel, Schumann Kreisleriana, Op. 16, Music 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117, 9 Lieder und Gesänge, Op. 32 (2023)^[26]

On Philips

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

On ACA Digital Recording, Inc

Bibliography

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

See also

Notes

References

Other sources

External links