Customer Reviews

Hélène Grimaud plays Beethoven, Brahms, Gershwin and others [Box Set]

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Warner Classics has turned once more to its vaults, hoping to reap some additional financial rewards from legendary young French pianist Helene Grimaud, who has now an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. While cynics may criticize this latest compilation from Warner Classics, serious fans of classical music may find much that is rewarding here. Grimaud's disciplined, yet emotionally intense performances have been compared favorably to the likes of Martha Argerich and Claudio Arrau. Many critics and fans have observed that she performs with the wisdom and maturity of an artist who is far more advanced in age than hers (This is an interesting observation in light of the recent success earned by another Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, Lang Lang, who has yet to attain the artistic maturity which Grimaud has demonstrated for years.). In these recordings made for Teldec in the mid to late 1990s, Grimaud was fortunate to work closely with such eminent conductors as David Zinman, Kurt Sanderling and Kurt Masur, and with excellent symphony orchestras in North America and Europe, including the Berliner Staatskapelle, New York Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony orchestras. Among my favorites is her fiery performance of the Schumann Piano Concerto, which sounds remarkably fresh in her capable hands and in the excellent muscianship demonstrated from the Deutsches-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and conductor David Zinman. Yet another favorite is an exquisitely well-played performance of the Brahms 1st Piano Concerto, in which she is accompanied by Kurt Sanderling and the Berliner Staatskapelle. Not surprisingly, yet another highlight is her excellent, rather vibrant, performance of the Gershwin Piano Concerto with David Zinman conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. If you've wondered why Helene Grimaud has received such ample praise from critics and fans alike, then hopefully you'll find this CD set as an important reason why she has earned such warm adulation from critics and classical music fans across the globe.

These recordings are some of the absolute best I have ever heard of these pieces, and I have heard a lot of them, since, most of them are, after all, war horses, i.e. basic staples of the classical music repertoire. Every single piece in this box-set is played beautifully, powerfully and with the utmost impressive musicality. Grimaud is obviously an artist who is not a "showman," but a sensitive and passionate artist who brings her musicality and passion to everything she plays.

What I really like about this set is that it shows Grimaud off to maximum advantage by providing the listener with samples of Grimaud playing solo as well as with orchestras. This allows one to enjoy both her ability to collaberate with other musicians as well as accomplish the magic of excellent musicianship on her own.

Also, the pieces that comprise this set seem to have been chosen to not only represent a cross section of the basic piano repertory, but the giants of composition that penned them. So, for example, Beethoven is generously represented in command performances of his fourth concerto and two sonatas, Rachmaninoff, who was himself a master technician of the keyboard, is honored with his second concerto, variations on a theme of Corelli as well as solo pieces. Brahms, another titan, is represented with both his first concerto and an ample survey of fantasies, intermezzos and piano pieces. Finally, Grimaud does impeccable service to the concertos of Schumann, Gershwin, Ravel and even Richard Strauss (his "Burleske" is really a concerto for piano and orchestra). This index presents Grimaud in both early and late romantic German, Russian romantic and French music. To the degree that Gershwin's music may be said to reflect what the French call "Le Hot Jazz," that idiom may be enjoyed as well in his piano concerto.

Aside from the consumate artistry of Helene Grimaud, and the excellent musicianship of the orchestras and conductors who accompany her, another bonus of this set is its sound quality, which is excellent. In a word, I have no complaints against this set at all and can recommend it with five stars without any reservation! I expect the genius of Grimaud to reward my repeated listening of it for many years to come!