Search - Hélène Grimaud :: Very Best of Helene Grimaud

The best of the best

Henry Pemberton | Philadelphia, Pa. | 12/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Helene Grimaud has also recorded the Rachmaninoff Bb for Deutsche Grammaphone, also available at Amazon.com; I'm not sure whether this performance is the same or a different one. She has recorded quite a few works in her repertoire more than once becuase she is always evolving her interpretations. It's not necessary to choose between or among them: both or all are inquisitive, compelling and very strong. She is an outstanding pianist; for me head and shoulders above a crowded field.

This disc also includes Schumann's Kreisleriana and Brahms' F minor piano sonata for the first time that I am aware of."

Mastery of difficult selections

C. B Collins Jr. | Atlanta, GA United States | 01/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is entitled "The Very Best of Helene Grimaud" which may give us a hint as to her selections. Yet I found many of the pieces to be compositionally complex and technically difficult and I felt that these selections that my seem less accessible than some other classical works were selectd to both show the incredible technical skill of Grimaud but also to show the listener how superb a difficult piece of music may be in the hands of a powerful interpretor. This impression is strengthened by the fact that the Rachmaninoff sonata was recordede in 1985, the Schumann Kreisleriana was recorded in 1988. The Brahms Sonata for piano was recorded in 1991.Helene Grimaud's interpretation of Sergai Rachmaninoff's Sonata No. 2 is very powerful. Grimaud plays six selections from Robert Schumann's Kreisleriana Op. 16. Again the presentation is full of power and technical grace, strong emotion and superb control. The strength of her phrasing, the emphasis on every note, never allowing anything to get lost, is indeed a listening pleasure. The third composer on the CD is Johannes Brahms and Grimaud plays his Sonata for Piano No. 3 in F minor. The listening experience is best described as intense for her selections are works with a cutting edge and her presentation style is about reflecting the power behind the works."