In 2023 Deutsche Grammophon celebrates a wonderful milestone: its 125th birthday. To mark the occasion the Yellow Label makes a selection of LPs available on vinyl for the first time ever. Hélène Grimaud is an astonishing artist; her eyes are wide awake, her answers as sharp as a flash, her diction precisely pointed. Now her debut CD is available on vinyl for the first time: Beethoven's 'Choral Fantasy' stands next to Arvo Pärt's 'Credo' from 1968; two works that correspond to each other, as Hélène Grimaud believes. There is also Beethoven's 'Tempest' Sonata and a 'Fantasia on an Ostinato' by John Corigliano, a piece the latter wrote for the Van Clifburn Competition in 1985. It is astonishing how little physicality and touch can be related in a pianist. For Grimaud's physical delicacy stands in bright contrast to her almost impetuous powerful grip. She knows how to literally bang out the notes and brush them against the grain with almost unruly charm, unleashing forces of sound that particularly hit the note in Beethoven's 'Storm' Sonata. Her use of pedal is cleverly calculated, so there is no chance for melodramatic 'sound clouds', not even in Beethoven's 'Choral Fantasy'.
Track Listing:
1. Fantasia On an Ostinato (John Corigliano) - Hélène Grimaud
2. Piano sonata no. 17 in D minor, op. 31, no. 2, 'The tempest', I. Largo - Allegro (Ludwig van Beethoven) - Hélène Grimaud
3. Piano sonata no. 17 in D minor, op. 31, no. 2, 'The tempest', II. Adagio (Ludwig van Beethoven) - Hélène Grimaud
4. Piano sonata no. 17 in D minor, op. 31, no. 2, 'The tempest', III. Allegretto (Ludwig van Beethoven) - Hélène Grimaud
5. Fantasia for piano, chorus and orchestra in C minor, op. 80, I. Adagio (Ludwig van Beethoven) - Hélène Grimaud
6. Fantasia for piano, chorus and orchestra in C minor, op. 80, II. Finale. Allegro - Meno Allegro - Allegro Molto - Adagio Ma Non Troppo - Marcia, Assai Vivace - ... (Ludwig van Beethoven) - Hélène Grimaud
7. Credo (Arvo Pärt) - Hélène Grimaud
