| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Contact: Helen Pinch, Performance Santa Fe Phone: (505) 984 8759 Email: hpinch@performancesantafe.org Promotional Photos Full Press Release |
Santa Fe, NM, September 2, 2022 — Known for her poetic expression and peerless technical control, French pianist Hélène Grimaud is one of the most sought-after artists performing with leading orchestras, in chamber music, and in solo recitals internationally and is an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist. A multi-faceted Renaissance woman with a deep dedication to her musical career, Hélène also nurtures passionate environmental, literary, and artistic interests. Grimaud comes to Santa Fe on October 1, beginning her 22-23 performance season at the Lensic. Her program draws from her album, Memory, which explores music’s ability to bring the past back to life. Selections of evanescent miniatures by Chopin, Debussy, Satie, Schumann, and Valentin Silvestrov, in the pianist’s own words, “conjure atmospheres of fragile reflection, a mirage of what was – or what could have been.”
Hélène Grimaud, piano
Sunday, October 2 | 4:00 p.m.
Lensic Performing Arts Center
211 W San Francisco
Santa Fe, NM 87501
$35-$115
$20 Rush tickets and student/family discounts available
To purchase tickets, visit www.performancesantafe.org or call 505 984 8759
Underwritten through the generosity of Cherie and Michael Gamble
Season Sponsors: Ann Murphy Daily and William W. Daily; Leah Gordon
About Hélène Grimaud
Renaissance woman Hélène Grimaud is not just a deeply passionate and committed musical artist whose pianistic accomplishments play a central role in her life. She is a woman with multiple talents that extend far beyond the instrument she plays with such poetic expression and peerless technical control. The French artist has established herself as a committed wildlife conservationist, a compassionate human rights activist, and a writer.
Grimaud was born in 1969 in Aix-en-Provence and began her piano studies at the local conservatory with Jacqueline Courtin before going on to work with Pierre Barbizet in Marseille. She was accepted into the Paris Conservatoire at just 13 and won first prize in piano performance three years later. She continued to study with György Sándor and Leon Fleisher until, in 1987, she gave her well-received debut recital in Tokyo. That same year, conductor Daniel Barenboim invited her to perform with the Orchestre de Paris: this marked the launch of Grimaud’s musical career.
Between her debut in 1995 with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Claudio Abbado and her first performance with the New York Philharmonic under Kurt Masur in 1999, Grimaud made a wholly different kind of debut: in upper New York State she established the Wolf Conservation Center. Grimaud is also a member of theorganization Musicians for Human Rights and is a published author of three books— Variations Sauvages (2003) Leçons Particulières (2005) and Retour à Salem (2013).
It is through her thoughtful and tenderly expressive music-making that Hélène Grimaud most deeply touches the emotions of audiences, who enjoy her concerts worldwide thanks to the extensive tours she undertakes as a soloist and recitalist. Her impact on the world of classical music were recognized by the French government when she was admitted into the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur (France’s highest decoration) at the rank of Chevalier (Knight).
Hélène Grimaud has been an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 2002. Her early recordings include Credo (2003); Reflection (2006); a Beethoven disc with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Vladimir Jurowski, chosen as one of history’s greatest classical music albums in the iTunes Classical Essentials series; and a DVD release of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Claudio Abbado.
Grimaud released the acclaimed Memory in September 2018. Exploring music’s ability to bring the past back to life, the album comprises a selection of evanescent miniatures by Chopin, Debussy, Satie, and Valentin Silvestrov, which, in the pianist’s own words, “conjure atmospheres of fragile reflection, a mirage of what was – or what could have been.”
Hélène Grimaud begins the 2022-23 season with a recital of her Memory recording with Performance Santa Fe. Grimaud first performed in Santa Fe in 2000 as a featured artist on Performance Santa Fe’s 1999-2000 season; she then performed at the Lensic in 2012 as part of “Wild Harmonies,” a two-day benefit with the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and the Wolf Conservation Center.
Hélène Grimaud is undoubtedly a multi-faceted artist. Her deep dedication to her musical career, both in performances and recordings, is reflected and reciprocally amplified by the scope and depth of her environmental, literary, and artistic interests. www.helenegrimaud.com
About Performance Santa Fe
Performance Santa has been bringing the very best of music, dance, and theater to iconic Santa Fe locations since 1937. Now in its 86th season, the organization upholds excellence in the performing arts and brings joy and enrichment to the community. Alongside its extensive performance season, the organization runs three dynamic, exciting, and inclusive educational programs for students in the community— Arts for Life, the Masterclass Series, and the Field Trip Series. PSF’s 2022-2023 season brings 26 performances to Santa Fe and celebrates the diverse possibilities of artistic expression. Learn more at www.PerformanceSantaFe.org Performance Santa Fe is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
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