Hélène Grimaud

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Hélène Grimaud

On rehearsal at the festival of La Roque-d'Anthéron
Background information
Birth name Hélène Grimaud
Born November 7, 1969 (1969-11-07) (age 40)
France Aix-en-Provence, France
Genres Classical
Occupations musician, author
Instruments Piano
Years active 1986–present
Labels Denon, Erato, Teldec, Deutsche Grammophon
Website Hélène Grimaud

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

Contents

[edit] Biography

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.[1][2] She has stated that as a child she was often "agitated".[3] 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, Grimaud moved to Florida, United States and later lived outside New York City. After some time spent in Berlin,[4] she currently resides in Switzerland.[5] 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.[6] 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.

[edit] Discography

On Denon [A]
On Erato
On Teldec
On Deutsche Grammophon

[edit] Bibliography

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

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The complete Denon recordings have been released in a box by Brilliant Classics.

[edit] References

[edit] External links