Search - Johannes Brahms, Clara Wieck Schumann, Robert Schumann :: Reflection

Thoughtful

Steven M. Ziolkowski | New York, NY, United States | 09/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think this CD is, as is always the case with Helene Grimaud, thoughtful. As with her other recent thematic offerings, I appreciate the effort in putting together something more than an unrelated selection of pieces. In this case, we have a program which reveals in musical form the relationship between the Schumanns and Brahms -- a story I recently read about in the Brahms' biography by Jan Swafford, which in turn greatly piqued my interest in this album. The performances are, all around, very moving and the sound well balanced between instruments (and, in the case of the lieder, vocalist). Bravo, Ms. Grimaud, for another wonderful effort!"

Understanding the Intricacies of the Schumann/Brahms Love Tr

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Whispers, poems, and pages have been floating around for years about the strangely romantic triangle that bound the composers Robert Schumann, Clara Wieck Schumann and Johannes Brahms - secrets that will be forever the purview of intuitive writers and philosophers and historians. This very intelligent and tender CD REFLECTION is one way of examining the closeness of these three remarkable and very human artists. And it is a complete success, musically and thoughtfully.



Incorporating some the finest artists available today this CD is the brainchild of the remarkable Hélène Grimaud, a pianist who not only is a remarkably fine artist but who also looks for more in her musical thoughts than merely the notes on the score. She offers here a collaboration with Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle in an elegant and wistful performance of Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, rich in subtleties and deeply felt melodic line.



Grimaud then partners with Anne Sofie von Otter in three songs by Clara Schumann: 'Er is gekommen in Sturm und Regen', 'Warum willst du and're fragen?', and 'Am Strande' - songs that give both artists the opportunity to remind us how gifted Clara was with song writing.



The third member of this remembered and honored triad is Johannes Brahms and his 'Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E minor' is performed with passion and grand scale by Grimaud and the gifted cellist Truls Mørk. Grimaud then closes the recital with Brahms' 'Rhapsodies for Piano Nos. 1 (B minor) and 2 (G minor)', sublime works that not only serve as a fitting closure to this thoughtful program but that also leave us with the desire for more Brahms from Hélène Grimaud! This is a very special recording, well produced technically, and one with which we are left with the feeling that both the Schumanns and Brahms would have warmly applauded. Highly recommended as one of the important issues of the year. Grady Harp, December 06

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Cool and cleaar-eyed in the romantics

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 10/17/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From the opening performance of the Schumann Paino Concerto, you would peg Helene Grimaud as a cool modernist with a light French touch. She is joined by Salonen, himself a musician who takes a chilly view of the Romantics (when he conducts them at all). Together, they produce a very unsentimental but sensitive reading that happens to be in exceptionally good sound. The ability of engineers to capture the actual sound of a concert grand piano is improving every day. The Staatskapelle Dresden plays elegantly. If you want a Schumann A minor that's almost chaste but very well articulated, Grimaud's is a perfect choice.



She then goes on to prove herself a bit of a chameleon in the three lieder by Clara Schumann, with their restless accompaniment that often overshadow the vical part. Equally turbulent are the two Brahms Rhapsodies, although I think Grimaud strains a bit to sound individual. We're back to neutral territory in the Brahms cello sonata #1 with Turls Monk, in which both soloists are highly controlled and, if not cool, not abandoned by any means.



In all, an imaginative program shows off several sides of this mercurial artist. I'm not sure I really know who the real Helene Grimaud is, but her pianism is certainly appealing."