Pianist and wolf preservationist Hélène Grimaud
The NHK Symphony Orchestra with Vladimir Ashkenazy on the podium and Hélène Grimaud the piano soloist, opened its U.S. tour at L.A.'s Disney Hall on Saturday afternoon with the same program they will play at Symphony Hall this Friday. Chris Pasles reviewed for the Los Angeles Times:
"The program started with a blockbuster Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, with Hélène Grimaud as the soloist. Grimaud has recorded separately with conductors Pierre Boulez and the L.A. Philharmonic's own Esa-Pekka Salonen for Deutsche Grammophon. So she has strong champions.
Here, however, she took a lyrical, rather self-effacing approach. Even in her powerhouse double octaves and other virtuosic passages, she seemed disinclined to impose a personal point of view on a romantic concerto that is full of angst, introspection and energy."
Read the full text of Brahms and Debussy in bright, unblended strokes.
Ms. Grimaud, who founded the Wolf Conservation Center in New York State, writes about her lupine and pianistic relationships in a newly translated (from the French) book. Here's an excerpt from the book's web page:
Late one night in 1991, Grimaud encountered a wolf-dog hybrid in Florida and felt an immediate, instinctual connection to the animal—one that the wolf also seemed to share. Determined to do what she could to protect this threatened species, she committed her time and resources to becoming certified to found her own wolf preserve on the grounds of her home in New York State.
Read more about: Wild Harmonies, A Life of Music and Wolves by Hélène Grimaud.
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