Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.83 Hélène Grimaud

• Johannes Brahms (1833–1897): Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in B flat major op. 83
• 11. Allegro non troppo18:52
• 22. Allegro appassionato09:25
• 33. Andante - Più adagio12:44
• 44. Allegretto grazioso - Un poco più presto09:27
• Waltz in A flat major op. 39 no. 15
• 515. Waltz in A flat major01:48
• Total Runtime52:16

Info for Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.83

Intense, romantic music-making from the world’s most captivating pianist. Thrilling, deeply personal interpretations of the dark, passionate sound-worlds of both Brahms piano concertos. A unique, multi-faceted artist who continues to push creative boundaries, Grimaud is one of few pianists to conquer the monumental dimensions of the epic Op.83.

Recorded under studio conditions in Vienna’s legendary Musikverein, the 2nd Piano Concerto marks Grimaud’s debut recording with the celebrated Wiener Philharmoniker; coupled with the equally coveted Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks for the 1st Concerto, Grimaud has discovered exemplary musical counterparts.

Conductor Andris Nelsons – dubbed “Der Wunderdirigent” by the Süddeutsche Zeitung – is one of today’s most exciting young interpreters of Romantic repertoire.

With over 850,000 sales for Deutsche Grammophon, Grimaud is set to recapture her position as a benchmark artist with broad popular appeal.

"... it would be hard to find a pairing that draws a greater distinction between the two [Piano Concertos] ... With Nelsons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Grimaud's second recording of the First sounds a tad less youthful, a tad more disciplined, but the balance between those two elements remains truly inspired. Nelsons and the Bavarians are on nearly every level a better match for Grimaud ... in this case fully encapsulating a young composer out to make the piano and orchestra equal partners ... The Vienna Philharmonic, by contrast, are a truly imposing force right from the opening ... Where the Bavarians emphasise flexibility and spontaneity, the Vienna Philharmonic make the simplest musical utterances seem epic ... by again forsaking power for emotional depth -- this time stressing an aura of contemplation -- her results end up being no less monumental." (Jed Distler, Ken Smith, Grammophone Award Issue)

Hélène Grimaud, piano
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Wiener Philharmoniker
Andris Nelsons, conductor

Hélène Grimaud - Pianist
A truly multi-faceted and charismatic artist – for pianist Hélène Grimaud music is a limitless passion. Hélène regularly appears with the most important orchestras in the world, playing with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Philharmonia Orchestra and Münchner Philharmoniker, as well as all the great orchestras in North America. She has performed with three generations of conductors, including Kurt Masur, Bernard Haitink, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Neeme Järvi, Pierre Boulez, Ricardo Chailly, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Jurowski, Fabio Luisi and Andris Nelsons. She was soloist at the Last Night of the BBC Proms 2008.

An ardent and committed chamber musician, Hélène Grimaud performs regularly in the most prestigious festivals and cultural capitals with a wide range of collaborators including Thomas Quasthoff, Rolando Villazòn, Jan Vogler, Truls Mørk, Clemens Hagen and the Capuçon brothers. In 2009 she performed hugely successful debut recitals in China and Korea and further concerts in Europe. In 2010 she appeared as Artiste Etoile in four concerts at the Lucerne Festival. An international recital tour encompassing Europe, USA and Japan dominated her 2010/11 season with repertoire ranging from Mozart to Bartòk. In between recitals Hélène Grimaud has performed regularly in concert throughout the season – in Moscow with Myung-Whun Chung and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, in St Petersburg with Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra, in Beijing with David Zinman and the China National Symphony Orchestra, in Germany with the Munich Philharmonic and Christian Thielemann and in the States with both the San Francisco Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestras. This summer she appears at leading European festivals including Beethovenfest Bonn and the London Proms.

Highlights of this autumn include a European tour with the Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and Antonio Pappano, a week-long Paris residency in November entitled Domaine Privé and a further Paris concert with the London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev. In March 2012 Hélène Grimaud returns to perform with the Vienna Philharmonic for concerts with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and in April she joins the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons for performances in Munich.

An exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2002, Hélène is one of DG’s most important recording artists with a string of imaginative and highly successful discs. This autumn she releases her debut of Mozart ‘s Piano Concertos No.19 and No.23 with Kammerorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the disc also features a collaboration with singer Mojca Erdmann on a recording of Mozart’s ’Ch’io mi scordi di te? KV 505’. Her most recent release, Resonances, features music by Mozart, Berg, Liszt and Bartok. Previous DG recordings include Bach’s solo and concerto works in which she directed Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen from the keyboard, and a Beethoven disc with Staatskapelle Dresden and Vladimir Jurowski, ‘Reflection’ and ‘Credo’ (both of which feature a number of works linked thematically), and a Chopin and Rachmaninov Sonatas disc. Hélène also features on two recent DVD releases: 2010 ECHO Klassik award winning DVD of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major with Vladimir Jurowski and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Recipient of numerous awards worldwide, in 2009 Hélène Grimaud received the Musikfest Bremen Award. She has been appointed ‘Officier dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ by the French Ministère de la Culture in 2002 and ‘Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite’ in 2008. In 2004 she received a ‘Victoire d’honneur’ at the Victoires de la Musique and in 2005 she won the ECHO ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ Award. Author of two very successful books, “Variations Sauvages” and “Leçons Particulières”, she champions many charitable causes, including the Wolf Conservation Center which she founded in upper New York State in 1999, the International Children’s Camp Villa San Souci, the Worldwide Fund for Nature and Amnesty International.

Date Last Edited: 30th September 2011

Booklet for Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat, Op.83