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Artist: Helene Grimaud
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Helene Grimaud:

For Clara - Extended Edition

Hélène Grimaud’s latest album, For Clara, featuring works composed by Schumann and Brahms, and inspired by Clara Schumann, was released to critical acclaim last September. Referring to Grimaud’s early recordings of some of this music, Diapason wrote, “[Their] shimmering poetry has been replaced by a far darker, more inward-looking vision, carried along by a powerful lyricism, even a certain violence – as if, over time, German Romanticism has revealed to the pianist a truth based not on tenderness and contemplation, but on a life-and-death struggle with oneself.” 

Deutsche Grammophon is now set to release a digital extended edition of For Clara. Out on 16 February 2024, this adds Grimaud’s 2022 performance of the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Camerata Salzburg at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie to her recordings of Kreisleriana and Brahms’s Op. 117 Intermezzi and Op. 32 songs – with baritone Konstantin Krimmel. The second movement of the Concerto is available to stream or download from today, 26 January, with the full performance, as well as Grimaud’s renditions of Kreisleriana and the Brahms songs (with Krimmel), all currently available on STAGE+.

Helene Grimaud:

For Clara feat. Konstantin Krimmel

Hélène Grimaud explores the rich universe of German Romanticism For Clara couples Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana Op. 16 with Brahms’s Intermezzi Op. 117 and Lieder und Gesänge Op. 32, featuring baritone Konstantin Krimmel

“You can spend a lifetime with a piece like this and always find something new” - Hélène Grimaud on Kreisleriana 

“I’ve always had a special relationship with the German Romantics,” says  Hélène Grimaud (in a recent interview for Deutsche Welle). “These are worlds in which I feel I can express what the composer intended.” That affinity is very much in evidence on her latest album, For Clara, which focuses not only on the pianist’s own relationship with the music of both Robert Schumann and his protégé Brahms, but also on that which bound both men to pianist-composer Clara Schumann (née Wieck). Grimaud revisits Schumann’s Kreisleriana, a work she has known most of her life and recorded once before, pairing it with Brahms’s three Op. 117 Intermezzi and his Op. 32 set of nine songs. Joining her for the latter is baritone Konstantin Krimmel, her musical partner on the Valentin Silvestrov album Silent Songs, released earlier this year (“Konstantin Krimmel and Hélène Grimaud deserve the highest praise for their poised and unaffected account of this beautiful, dreamlike music”, BBC Music Magazine). 
For Clara will be released by Deutsche Grammophon on CD, vinyl and digitally on 8 September. Filmed in the library of Polling Abbey near Munich, in June 2022, Hélène Grimaud’s performance of Kreisleriana will be available on demand on STAGE+ from 10 July 2023, while her Berlin recital with Konstantin Krimmel, featuring Brahms’s Op. 32, can be streamed from the platform now. Grimaud’s recordings of two further Brahms intermezzi – Op. 116 No. 2 in A minor and Op. 118 No. 2 in A major – will be issued as e-singles on 13 October and 24 November respectively. 

Helene Grimaud:

'Between The Notes' documentary by David Serero

Hélène Grimaud: “Between The Notes” is a captivating new documentary about the French pianist, is now available on VOD for 60 days only! The long-awaited documentary on the life and career of world-renowned pianist Hélène Grimaud is finally available on VOD for 60 days before hitting theaters this fall. Directed and produced by David Serero in partnership with the Deutsche Grammophon label, this captivating film offers an intimate look into the life of this exceptional artist and the challenges she faced throughout her journey through unique interviews. The documentary features exclusive footage of Grimaud's dazzling performances, capturing his virtuosity and unique interpretation of classical musical works and multiple archives. Additionally, the film explores the challenges and sacrifices she faced to achieve artistic excellence, her unwavering commitment to environmental preservation, and her passion for animal welfare.

David Serero, the talented director and producer, captured the essence of Grimaud's personality, letting his passion for music shine through striking images and in-depth interviews. The documentary offers viewers an immersive experience that immerses them in the world of this exceptional artist and allows them to understand better what motivates and inspires her.

In this film, David Serero interviewed essential figures from the world of classical music, such as conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin, baritone Bryn Terfel, pianist Jacques Rouvier (who taught Helene Grimaud), animator Alain Duault, conductor Roderick Cox and others.

Hélène Grimaud, recognized as one of the greatest pianists of her generation, has amazed the whole world with her technical mastery, emotional expressiveness, and unwavering passion for music. In this documentary, David Serero takes us on a captivating journey through Grimaud's personal and professional life, revealing the key moments that shaped his exceptional career.

Helene Grimaud:

Silent Songs - Silvestrov w/ Konstantin Krimmel

The gentle music and quiet nostalgia of some of the most exquisitely beautiful poetry ever written flows through Hélène Grimaud’s latest album. Valentin Silvestrov’s Silent Songs includes contemplative settings of verse by Golden and Silver Age Russian poets Pushkin, Lermontov, Tyutchev, Baratynsky, Zhukovsky, Yesenin and Mandelstam, Ukrainian lyrics by Taras Shevchenko, and Russian translations of poetry by Keats and Shelley. Grimaud presents a dozen pieces from this haunting tribute to the innate music of poetic words. She is joined by the young baritone Konstantin Krimmel, winner of the 2018 International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition. 

Hélène Grimaud discovered Silvestrov’s Silent Songs almost 20 years ago when she received a recording of the complete song-cycle as a birthday gift. Enchanted by the composer’s music, she soon added a number of his piano pieces to her repertoire and began a long search for the ideal voice to partner in Silent Songs. Her search came to an end when she was introduced to German-Romanian baritone Konstantin Krimmel. They presented their Silvestrov programme at the Stienitzsee Turbine Hall near Berlin at the end of August 2022, performing it in the presence of the octogenarian composer, who has lived in Berlin as an exile from his war-torn homeland since March. It was on this occasion that Grimaud and Silvestrov met for the first time. The concert, which also included songs by Brahms, was filmed by DG and will premiere on STAGE+ on 21 January 2023. The resulting album is due for release by Deutsche Grammophon on 3 March 2023.

Helene Grimaud:

The Messenger, Extended Version

It's been more than nine and ten years respectively since Hélène Grimaud made her only two Mozart recordings. One might almost think there simply hasn't been room for his music in her multifaceted repertoire, and the pianist does confess that her younger self found the "lightness of being" she associated with his piano works unfulfilling. Now, however, for her latest concept album The Messenger, she has created a pianistic dialogue between Mozart and the Ukrainian-born contemporary composer Valentin Silvestrov. The album released by Deutsche Grammophon in October 2020, is now available as an extended digital edition and on Dolby Atmos, featuring a new track by Silvestrov (3 Bagatelles, Op. 1: III. Moderato) accompanied by a performance video.

Helene Grimaud:

The Messenger

For her latest studio album, pianist Hélène Grimaud travels to Salzburg where she creates a fascinating juxtaposition between the eternal 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.  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."

In selecting the music for this album, Hélène has carefully chosen music by Mozart that fits into an overall dramaturgy: from Mozart's famous unfinished D minor Fantasy, Helene transitions seamlessly into the great D minor concerto K. 466 - one of the most popular amongst Mozart's 27 concertos (and one of only two in a minor key). The C minor Fantasy here signals "the end of Mozart" and a new beginning: The Messenger starts with a theme reminiscent of Mozart, and like a messenger, creates a connection between the present and the world that existed before. Melancholy and hope, sadness and exuberance can be felt emanating from both Mozart's and Silvestrov's works. The Messenger, one of Silvestrov's most performed works, is dedicated to his wife Larissa Bondarenko, who had recently passed away. The Two Dialogues with Postscript that serve here as an epilogue, leave the outcome open, leading the way to Schubert, Wagner and beyond.

Helene Grimaud:

Memory

Pianist Hélène Grimaud is set to release her new album Memory on September 21th on Deutsche Grammophon. The album explores the nature of recollection through a series of exquisite pianistic miniatures, with a choice of repertoire embracing everything from impressionistic reveries by Chopin and Debussy to the timeless, folk-like melodies of Valentin Silvestrov. The French pianist's latest Deutsche Grammophon recording addresses music's unique ability to bring images of the past back to life in the present moment, to conjure up vivid evocations of time and place. 

Memory and music make perfect partners. Both are fleeting, never fixed, always subject to interpretation. Our identities are formed from memories, just as so many of our most enduring experiences are rooted in music. Hélène Grimaud wanted to explore the universal nature of memory, its place in the lives of us all. Memory, she explains, uses music to probe the many levels of human consciousness.

Helene Grimaud:

Perspectives

Grimaud's challenging, eloquent artistry runs throughout Perspectives, a personal selection of highlights from her Deutsche Grammophon catalog that offers a strong flavor of the pianist's penetrating insights into landmarks of her instrument's repertoire. The double-disc album, scheduled for release on 7 April 2017, embraces the composers and compositions that have left the deepest impressions on her soul. It features both extracts from monumental concertos by such titans as Beethoven, Brahms and Bartók, and transcendent solo scores by Bach, Mozart and Chopin among others. Each disc is rounded off by a delightful "encore" – Brahms's Waltz in A flat and Sgambati's arrangement of Gluck's "Dance of the Blessed Spirits," respectively – both pieces enjoying their first CD/streaming release on this album.

15 NEW  36 TOTAL
SYND: Classical 24
Direct: MOOD
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Cleveland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Detroit, New Orleans, Denver, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Seattle, Austin, Boulder, AL(Statewide), SC(Statewide), Canada
Online: AccuRadio

Helene Grimaud:

Water

Hélène Grimaud's latest album for Deutsche Grammophon, produced by Nitin Sawhney, was inspired by her abiding fascination with Nature's most precious gift. Water is set for worldwide release on February 5, 2016 and conveys imaginative responses to everything from mighty oceans and great lakes to raindrops and snowflakes as well as inviting listeners to contemplate the mounting threats to the safety, security and supply of this essential resource. 

55 NEW   77 TOTAL
SYND: NPR/ATC, PRI/C24, CBC, Classical Music Indy
Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, MOOD
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash DC, Atlanta, Dallas, Cleveland, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis, Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Portland, Buffalo, Louisville, Honolulu
Online: Taintradio, AccuRadio, HuffPost, Passion Musique et Culture, Epoch Times, axs, Sinfini Music  

Helene Grimaud:

Brahms Piano Concertos No. 1&2

With inimitable passion and spiritual dedication, Hélène Grimaud has climbed the Mount Everest of the romantic piano repertoire, performing The Brahms No. 1 and No. 2 Piano Concertos with Andris Nelsons conducting which will be released as a dual disc by Deutsche Grammophon on September 30, 2013.  Believed to be the first woman pianist of the 21st century to release both the Brahms piano concertos, Grimaud recorded the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, op. 15 live with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra) at Munich's Herkulessaal; and the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, op. 83 with the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic) in Vienna's legendary Musikverein.  It is Grimaud's first recording with the Vienna Philharmonic.

25 New 'ON'  91 Total
SYND: APM/Performance Today, PRI/Classical 24
Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, MOOD
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Cleveland, Houston, Atlanta, Seattle, Minneapolis, Baltimore, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Portland, Albuquerque, Memphis, San Antonio, Buffalo, Louisville, Honolulu
Online: Taintradio