Learning About Classical Pianist Helene Grimaud

Learning About Classical Pianist Helene Grimaud

Bruce Von Stiers

Over the years I have reviewed a lot of music. From jazz to rock to folk to country, I reviewed many different music genres. But I think I've only reviewed one classical music album in all that time.

I am very uninformed about classical music. I wouldn't be able to discern between a Brahms or a Schubert piece. I know chopsticks but not Chopin. I know the names of composers but wouldn't be able to identify their work.

But I do enjoy classical music when I hear it. Especially classical piano music. One of today's most noted classical music pianists is Helene Grimaud. There is a recent documentary about her. The title of the film is Between The Notes: The Helene Grimaud Piano Story.

The film covers Helene's life from early childhood to today. Family members, former teachers and other people involved in her life were interviewed. Helene herself is interviewed.

We learn through her own words, and the words of others, the musical path that she took. From being a sort of child prodigy to making her first professional recording at sixteen years old, Helene was a natural at classical piano. But a rebellious streak led her away from traditional classical music for a while as her teacher told her to take a break and come back when she could conform. Well, that moved Helene in a slightly different direction with her music.

People such as famed opera singer Bryn Terfel talk about interacting and performing with Grimaud.

When she was just eighteen years old, Helene was invited to play with the Paris Orchestra. And in 1995, Helene was invited to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Several albums, magazine articles and other assorted media brought Helene to the forefront of classical music. And put a more modern face to it as well.

While the documentary deals a lot with Helene's rise to fame, a little bit of it gets into who she is as a person. And there are questions asked of her, like, does she practice a bit before going on stage? How does she prepare before going on stage? Helene's responses were quite candid. In talking about how she feels after a performance, she kind of picks things apart, thinking what went wrong, what went right and what could have gone better.

And she is big on nature. During a stroll through a wooded area, Helene says that she feels like the woods and forests are “nature's cathedrals.”

The film also covers Helene's work with wolves. She established the Wolf Conservation Center over two decades ago.

Helene Grimaud has been called the greatest classical pianist of her generation. Not knowing who she was before watching this documentary, I wasn't sure that was an accurate description of Helene. But seeing clips of her performances in the documentary, and hearing what other musical artists, conductors, teachers and people involved with her life, made me realize that the description was very much on the mark. And I love her work with wolves through her conservation program.

David Seraro produced and directed the film. He has directed other documentaries, including one on screenwriter Lisa Azuelos and one on fashion icon Elie Tahari. Seraro is also an actor, whose roles include a cantor in a wonderful comedy I reviewed a while ago titled Tango Shalom.

Between The Notes: The Helene Grimaud Piano Story is a terrific look at the life and career of Helene Grimaud.

Between The Notes: The Helene Grimaud Piano Story is a finalist in this year's Santa Clarita International Film Festival.

The documentary is available for viewing on Amazon Prime.

To find out more about Helene Grimaud, visit https://helenegrimaud.com/ . The website also has a trailer for the film, information about Helene's work with wolves and a link to the Wolf Conservation Center.

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