Hélène Grimaud

Infobox musical artist
Name = Hélène Grimaud

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Img_capt = On rehearsal at the festival of La Roque-d'Anthéron
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Hélène Grimaud
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Born = birth date and age|1969|11|7
flagicon|FRA Aix-en-Provence, France
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Instrument = Piano
Genre = Classical
Occupation = musician, author
Years_active = 1986-present
Label = Denon, Erato, Teldec, Deutsche Grammophon
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URL = [http://www.helenegrimaud.com/ Hélène Grimaud]
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Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Hélène Grimaud (born November 7, 1969) is a French pianist.

She was born in Aix-en-Provence, France. She is descended from Sephardi Jews from Corsica on her mother's side and from Berber Jews on her father's side. [ [http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003121/H-eacute-l-egrave-ne-Grimaud.html Hélène Grimaud Biography - Discography, Music, Lyrics, Album, CD, Career, Famous Works, and Awards ] ] [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E5DD1F38F93AA15756C0A962958260 RECORDINGS VIEW; Sacre Bleu! Don't Call Her French, Or Even Female - New York Times ] ] Her family changed its name from Grimaldi before she was born. She has described herself as an "extremely agitated" child [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/11/11/bmpc.xml Peter Culshaw, "The pianist who's leader of the pack". "Telegraph", 11 November 2002.] ] , having a problem over-focusing; she was a give-her-all-or-none type of child. She discovered the piano at seven. She entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1982 where she studied with Jacques Rouvier. In 1985 she won first prize at the Conservatory and the Grand Prix du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy for her recording of the Rachmaninov "Piano Sonata No. 2." In 1987, she launched her professional career with a solo recital in Paris and a performance with the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim.

At 21, Ms. Grimaud moved to Florida, United States and later lived outside New York City. After some time spent in Berlin [ [http://www.arte.tv/fr/semaine/244,broadcastingNum=691745,day=1,week=32,year=2007.html Biographie: Hélène Grimaud, documentary by Alix François Meier, 2006] ] , she currently resides in Switzerland [ [http://www.la-croix.com/article/index.jsp?docId=2325018&rubId=786 Hélène Grimaud, une carrière faite de rencontre (biography in French) by Arnaud Schwartz, La Croix, 2008] ] . She is known for her 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 then-companion, the photographer J. Henry Fair [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/arts/music/05oest.html?ei=5088&en=705664dc44584947&ex=1320382800&adxnnl=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1162784679-5GANu5ASDvlrSZYhVMSRCQ James R. Oestreich, "A Pianist Harmonizes With Wolves". "New York Times", 5 November 2006.] ] . She also experiences synesthesia, where one physical sense adds input to another, for example tasting words, or 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.

Discography

On Denon

*Rachmaninoff "Piano Sonata No. 2" (1986)
*Chopin "Ballade No. 1", Liszt "Après une Lecture de Dante", Schumann "Sonata for Piano" (1987)
*Schumann "Kreisleriana", Brahms "Piano Sonata No. 2" (1989)
*Brahms "Piano Sonata No. 3 & 6 Klavierstücke" (1992)
*Rachmaninoff "Piano Concerto No. 2", Ravel "Piano Concerto" (1993)

"Note: The complete Denon recordings have been released in a box by Brilliant Classics."

On Erato

* Schumann "Piano Concerto", Strauss "Burleske" (1995)
* Brahms "Piano Pieces Op. 116-119" (1996)
* Gershwin "Piano Concerto", Ravel "Piano Concerto" (1997)
* Brahms "Piano Concerto No. 1" (1998)

On Teldec

* Beethoven "Piano Concerto No. 4", "Piano Sonata No. 30", "Piano Sonata No. 31" (1999)
* Rachmaninoff "Piano Concerto No. 2", "Prelude" Op. 32/12, "Etudes-Tableaux" Op. 33/1, 2 and 9, "Variations on a Theme of Corelli" (2001)

On Deutsche Grammophon

* "Credo", comprising John Corigliano: "Fantasia on an Ostinato", Beethoven: "Piano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest", "Choral Fantasy", Arvo Pärt: "Credo" (2003)
* "Chopin | Rachmaninoff" (2005)
* Bartók "The Piano Concertos" (on the third) (2005)
* "Reflection" (2006)
* Beethoven "Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor", Piano Sonata No. 28" (2007)

Bibliography

* "Variations Sauvages" (2003) (published in English as "Wild Harmonies")
* "Leçons Particulières" (2005)

References

External links

* [http://www.helenegrimaud.com/ Official Website]
* [https://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=25155 Biographical information]
* [http://www.nywolf.org/ Wolf Conservation Center]