Art Scott lavished praise on Helene Grimaud’s performance of Brahms Op. 116-119. Unfortunately, that CD is unavailable. The only way to obtain it is to buy the Helene Grimaud box set. So I did. After listening to Grimaud play Brahms I’m willing to admit Art might be right in his assessment of Grimaud’s scintillating performance. Art also sent me some pages from Grimaud’s memoir, Helene Grimaud: A Life of Music and Wolves where she discusses her approach to Brahms on the piano. “As soon as I heard a work by Brahms…I had a sense of recognition. It was very bizarre–the feeling that something had been written for you, and this something corresponded exactly to the fluctuations of your emotions…. I think I play Chopin fairly well, but I never reached the same degree of intimacy with him that I did with Brahms.” So I read her book. Grimaud’s insights are as passionate as her playing. Her obsession with wolves and her antipathy toward men made her memoir gripping. If you’re interested in the life of one of the finest pianists in the world read her book; if you want to listen to some great classical music, buy her box set. GRADE: A (for both the book and the music)
Great Xmas idea!
Grimaud’s playing is wonderful, Patti. And her memoir is quirky and fascinating. She doesn’t much like wolves with two legs, though.
Hmmm. Interesting. Under consideration. I have a feeling this is going to cost me some dough.
The Helen Grimaud box set is well worth the money, Rick. I’m sure your local public library has a copy of the Grimaud memoir if you want to save a few bucks.
Helene manages to dodge one central issue through most of the book, but does face it near the end — the fact that she’s effing drop-dead gorgeous and could have had a supermodel career if she’d so chosen. She doesn’t exactly call her beauty a curse, but she does seem to view it as an annoying irrelevancy that confounds her relations with both men and women. She lets the PR people glam her up for pressbook shots and CD covers, that’s the classical music biz these days, but in performance she wears severe pantsuits, flat shoes, hair pulled back, no makeup. She’s incredibly talented, and a fascinating, eccentric maverick.
You’re right about Grimaud being eccentric, Art. The wolves, the love of Dostoyevsky
and Poe, the hostility to men, it all adds up to a very intriguing diva. I’m glad you brought the memoir and Grimaud’s Brahms recordings to my attention.
Oh, really? The love of Dostoyevsky is eccentric? My having his complete works, in the gold-stamped, pink-and-black custom bindings, make ME eccentric? Oh my. I especially like his story about the big cockroach. Oh and also the one about the Irish school teacher.
Dostoyevsky and Poe are not light reading, Rick. Grimaud revels in dark writing.
Leave it to Art to combine classical music and GGA. The rogue.
Art has a weakness for talented pianists, Bob. Of course, his favorites all look like super-models.