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Helene Grimaud

The Messenger

Deutsche Grammophon

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Silvestrov: The Messenger (For Piano Solo)
Silvestrov: The Messenger
Interview with David Serero - iHeart Radio - The Culture News
Qobuz Interview
1 Mozart: Fantasia No. 3 in D Minor, K. 397  
2 Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 - I. Allegro (Cadenza Beethoven)  
3 II. Romance  
4 III. Rondo. Allegro assai (Cadenza Beethoven)  
5 Mozart: Fantasia No. 4 in C Minor, K. 475  
6 Silvestrov: The Messenger (For Piano and Strings)  
7 Silvestrov: Two Dialogues with Postscript - I. Wedding Waltz  
8 II. Postlude  
9 III. Morning Serenade  
10 Silvestrov: The Messenger (For Piano Solo)  
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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's extraordinary pianism make 'For Clara - Extended Edition' exceptional / Wild Mercury Rhythm
    Posted At: May 1, 2024
    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...

  • Helene Grimaud debuts at 'Princeton University Concerts' / The Daily Princetonian
    Posted At: February 11, 2024
    Renaissance woman Hélène Grimaud is not just a deeply passionate and committed musical artist whose pianistic accomplishments play a central role in her life. She is a woman with multiple talents that extend far beyond the instrument she plays with such poetic expression and peerless technical control. The French artist has established herself as a committed wildlife conservationist, a compassionate human r...

  • Some pianists are born to play Brahms, Beethoven, Bach, and Busoni. Then there's Helene Grimaud / The Classic Review
    Posted At: January 26, 2024
    Helene Grimaud’s emphatic pianism pays mixed rewards for the Celebrity SeriesThe Classic Review's Jonathan Blumhofer writes….Some pianists are born to play Brahms, some Beethoven, some Bach, and some Busoni. Then there’s Hélène Grimaud, whose belated, Celebrity Series-sponsored Boston recital debut at Jordan Hall on Saturday night tackled the music of all four.Given the French pianist’s unapologetically ass...

  • Helene Grimaud - Between The Notes will premiere at NYC's AMC Empire 25: Times Square / BroadwayWorld
    Posted At: November 27, 2023
    An exclusive Q&A by Hélène Grimaud and David Serero will follow the screeningBroadwayWorld's A.A. Cristi writes….The long-awaited documentary on the life and career of world-renowned pianist Hélène Grimaud premieres at AMC Empire 25 Theater in Times Square on December 5th at 8pm (Red carpet at 7:30pm). Directed and produced by David Serero in a unique partnership with the Deutsche Grammophon label, this...

  • Helene Grimaud and Konstantin Krimmel reach a high level of artistry on 'For Clara' / textura
    Posted At: October 9, 2023
    textura writes….Earlier this year, pianist Hélène Grimaud and baritone Konstantin Krimmel issued a mesmerizing recording of Valentin Silvestrov's Silent Songs and now continue their collaboration on For Clara by performing Brahms's Lieder und Gesänge Op. 32. In casting her in an accompanying role, Silent Songs required Grimaud to play with restraint, though not so self-effacingly that her signature artistry...

  • Piano specialists may regard the baritone on 'For Clara' as an intrusion, but it's what makes it special / BBC Music Magazine
    Posted At: October 3, 2023
    “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 ...

  • Helene Grimaud, Konstantin Krimmel - For Clara: Works by Schumann and Brahms is the WFMT: Featured New Release
    Posted At: September 29, 2023
    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.“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 wh...

  • Helene Grimaud 'For Clara' and 'Bach Minimaliste' / the arts fuse review
    Posted At: September 26, 2023
    Reviews of Hélène Grimaud’s latest homage to Clara Schumann and La Tempête investigates seeming stylistic overlaps in the music of J. S. Bach, Henryk Górecki, Jehan Alain, Knut Nystedt, and John Adams.the arts fuse - Jonathan Blumhofer writes…..The Robert Schumann-Clara Schumann-Johannes Brahms love triangle has been a popular programming tack, especially of late as there’s been a resurgence of interest in ...

  • Fine performances and thoughtful curation of works on Helene Grimaud's 'For Clara' / THE CLASSIC REVIEW
    Posted At: September 19, 2023
    THE CLASSIC REVIEW's Azusa Ueno writes….There were moments in this new album by Hélène Grimaud where I was distinctly reminded of great Romantic pianists from the past (Horowitz comes to mind)—especially the piano technique in slow moments where the two hands are never played together and with the aid of plenty of sustaining pedal. This style is somewhat rare these days in the competition standards, where a...

  • Helene Grimaud's Brahms: Living in the First Person / TOWN TOPICS
    Posted At: May 10, 2023
    Musically, it was like the notes had always been part of my nature, the composer’s expressions mirroring the ebb and flow of my own emotions.—Hélène Grimaud on BrahmsTOWN TOPICS - Stuart Mitchner writes…..Sunday, May 7, 2023, began online as Google marked Johannes Brahms’s 190th birthday with a series of “doodles” depicting young handsome Brahms and old bearded Brahms at the keyboard. The smooth male voice ...

  • Grimaud/Krimmel - Silvestrov: Silent Songs. A finely-tuned balance between emotion and restraint / BBC Music Magazine
    Posted At: April 18, 2023
    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 b...

  • Poetry, of a particularly high order, by Helene Grimaud and Konstantin Krimmel on 'Silvestrov's Silent Songs' / textura
    Posted At: April 17, 2023
    textura writes….Poetry of a particularly high order is achieved by French pianist Hélène Grimaud and German-Romanian baritone Konstantin Krimmel on their recording of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov's Silent Songs. The duo performs twelve selections from the song cycle, which, written between 1974 and 1977, comprises twenty-four pieces and requires nearly two hours to perform. Her enchantment with th...

  • ludwigvan TORONTO's 'LEBRECHT LISTENS' shortlists Helene Grimaud - Silent Songs as one of his records of the year
    Posted At: April 7, 2023
    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 b...

  • Helene Grimaud - Silent Songs makes The New York Times: 5 Classical Music Albums You Can Listen to Right Now
    Posted At: March 30, 2023
    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 b...

  • Decca to release Rachmaninov podcast series. Listen to forthcoming episode with Helene Grimaud / GRAMOPHONE
    Posted At: March 24, 2023
    GRAMOPHONE writes…..To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sergei Rachmaninov (born April 1, 1873) Decca Classics is releasing 20 podcasts in which leading musicians discuss and perform his work, and two of his biographers discuss some of his most innovative creations. Additionally, Rachmaninov’s grandson, Alexander, remembers his grandfather, and the composer himself can be heard performing som...

  • Helene Grimaud, Konstantin Krimmel are natural, expressive and well calibrated to Silvestrov's music / LaScena Musicale
    Posted At: March 24, 2023
    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 b...

  • On 'Silvestrov: Silent Songs,' Helene Grimaud pays homage to one of Ukraine's greatest living composers / Your Classical Q&A
    Posted At: March 22, 2023
    Hélène Grimaud discovered Silvestrov’s 'Silent Songs' almost 20 years ago“His music is his poetry. It has exceptional transparency. It's simple in the language yet so expressive. Do you know what they say in French? This expression, à fleur de peau — ‘means I want to pull something on the skin's surface that reaches deep,’” says French pianist Hélène Grimaud about the music of one of Ukraine’s greatest livi...

  • Helene Grimaud chats about 'Silent Songs' with FM91: Toledo
    Posted At: March 21, 2023
    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 b...

  • Helene Grimaud chats about her new album: 'Silent Songs' with 88.5WQED - Pittsburgh
    Posted At: February 17, 2023
    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 b...

  • Helene Grimaud chats with Classical Radio about new 'Silent Songs' release
    Posted At: February 16, 2023
    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 b...

  • Helene Grimaud and Wild Up meditate on the music of Valentin Silvestrov at The Soraya / SFCV
    Posted At: February 9, 2023
    SFCV's Richard S. Ginell writes…….Hélène Grimaud, the French-born pianist now living in Westchester County, N.Y., was a bit ahead of the curve in championing the music of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Prior to the COVID pandemic, she was juxtaposing Sturm und Drang Mozart with some of Silvestrov’s gentle pieces for piano and string orchestra, gathering them together on an album, The Messenger, tha...

  • Helene Grimaud to release new Deutsche Grammophon album: 'SILENT SONGS' in March / BroadwayWorld
    Posted At: February 5, 2023
    Hélène Grimaud To Release Deutsche Grammophon Album 'SILENT SONGS' on March 3.BroadwayWorld's Blair Ingenthron writes….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, Ba...

  • Helene Grimaud and Wild Up meditate on the music of Valentin Silvestrov / SFCV
    Posted At: January 31, 2023
    SFCV's Richard S. Ginell writes….Hélène Grimaud, the French-born pianist now living in Westchester County, N.Y., was a bit ahead of the curve in championing the music of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Prior to the COVID pandemic, she was juxtaposing Sturm und Drang Mozart with some of Silvestrov’s gentle pieces for piano and string orchestra, gathering them together on an album, The Messenger, that...

  • Helene Grimaud returns to Santa Barbara's 'Lobero' as part of CAMA's Masterseries / Santa Barbara Independant
    Posted At: November 30, 2022
    Renaissance woman Hélène Grimaud is not just a deeply passionate and committed musical artist whose pianistic accomplishments play a central role in her life. She is a woman with multiple talents that extend far beyond the instrument she plays with such poetic expression and peerless technical control. The French artist has established herself as a committed wildlife conservationist, a compassionate human r...

  • Helene Grimaud showcases her impeccable technique with a spotless Stanford performance / The Stanford Daily
    Posted At: November 9, 2022
    ‘Rousing memory through non-rational means’:  French classical pianist Hélène Grimaud, a wildlife conservationist, human rights activist and writer, performs a recital at Bing Concert Hall.The Stanford Daily's Aya Aziz writes….Stanford Live welcomed French classical pianist Hélène Grimaud to Bing Concert Hall on Sunday. The fifty-three-year-old musician is very much a “Renaissance woman,” having establ...

  • Helene Grimaud chats with iHeart Media - Culture News
    Posted At: November 18, 2021

    Renaissance woman Hélène Grimaud is not just a deeply passionate and committed musical artist whose pianistic accomplishments play a central role in her life. She is a woman with multiple talents that extend far beyond the instrument she plays with such poetic expression and peerless technical control. The French artist has established herself as a committed wildlife conservationist, a comp...

  • Helene Grimaud creates a 'dialogue' between Mozart and Silvestrov on 'The Messenger'
    Posted At: December 1, 2020

    Pianist Hélène Grimaud has created a "dialogue" of sorts between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Ukrainian-born contemporary composer Valentin Silvestrov in her latest album "The Messenger."  The recording presents three works by Mozart, all in chronological order and in minor keys.  Grimaud sees his use of the minor as suggestive of "confrontations with fate or destiny". ...

  • After nearly a decade, Helene Grimaud returns to Mozart and offers a vivid perspective / blogcritics
    Posted At: November 21, 2020

    Pianist Hélène Grimaud returns to Mozart after nearly a decade with her new album The Messenger. The set pairs well-known pieces by Mozart with works by Valentin Silvestrov in which the contemporary composer channels – or, let's say, feeds off of – Mozart and other great classical artists. The result is twofold. While perhaps not a totally fresh perspective on Mozart's Fantasias...

  • Helene Grimaud explores the spiritual nature of Mozart / New Classical Tracks
    Posted At: November 18, 2020

    Helene Grimaud and Camerata Salzburg: The Messenger via Deutsche Grammophon. It has been about 10 years since Helene Grimaud has recorded any Mozart. Her latest release is a concept album that generates a fascinating dialogue between Mozart and the Ukrainian-born contemporary composer Valentin Silvestrov. The Messenger, by Silvestrov is the title track of this recording, and it echoes the music of Mo...

  • Purity, transparency and impermanance - 90.9WGUC visits with Helene Grimaud
    Posted At: November 9, 2020

    The brand-new album from Hélène Grimaud, The Messenger, is a creation of a pianistic dialogue between Mozart and the Ukrainian-born contemporary composer Valentin Silvestrov. The recording sessions took place at the start of this year - before the worldwide pandemic shut things down - at an historic Mozart site in Salzburg, the Great Hall of the University, where Ms. Grimaud was joined by t...

  • Helene Grimaud discusses 'The Messenger' with 90.5WUOL: Louisville
    Posted At: October 20, 2020

    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...

  • On 'The Messenger,' Helene Grimaud travels to Salzburg to create a fascinating juxtaposition between Mozart and Valentin Silvestrov / WFMT: Featured New Release
    Posted At: October 15, 2020

    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. In selecting the music for this album, Grimaud has carefully chosen music by Mozart that fits into an overall dramaturgy: from his famous unfinished D minor Fantasy, she transitions seamlessly into th...

  • With 3 San Francisco Symphony performances, Helene Grimaud joins KDFC: The State of the Arts
    Posted At: April 25, 2019

    Playing the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto, which she calls his ‘most lyrical,' pianist Hélène Grimaud joins guest conductor James Gaffigan and the San Francisco Symphony for three performances this week, this afternoon, and Friday and Saturday evenings. The concerto begins with the soloist playing a delicate, unaccompanied passage of five measures before it's answered by...

  • Advancing her Orchestra of St. Luke's show at Carnegie Hall, Helene Grimaud chats with 89.9WKCR
    Posted At: April 17, 2019

    Pianist Hélène Grimaud recently released her Deutsche Grammophon album - Memory which explores the nature of recollection through a series of exquisite pianistic miniatures. A choice of repertoire embracing everything from impressionistic reveries by Chopin and Debussy to the timeless, folk-like melodies of Valentin Silvestrov.  Grimaud joins the Orchestra of St. Luke's un...

  • Helene Grimaud visits with the KUSC: Evening Program
    Posted At: March 26, 2019

    Tune into KUSC: Los Angeles - Evening Program with Jim Svejda on Wednesday, 9pm to Midnight, for a visit from the great French pianist Hélène Grimaud. She's in town for performances of Ravel's G Major Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She'll also discuss some current and future projects, including her latest Deutsche Grammophon album, Memory. Memory and music make perfect par...

  • Coltrane, Cho, Ott, Hahn, Grimaud, Pollini make KCRW - Rhythm Planet 'Best of 2018'
    Posted At: December 18, 2018

    This week's playlist features my picks for the best of 2018. Looking back on the year, 2018 offered a treasure trove of jazz, world, classical, Brazilian and Cuban music. We highlight a few classical albums, too. Here's the list. John Abercrombie – Up and Coming (ECM) Seckou Keita and Catrin Finch – SOAR (Bendigedig) Various Artists – Two Niles to Sing a Melody: The Viol...
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