She was just 13 years old when she was admitted to the Paris Conservatory. Three years later, she won First Prize in piano and continued her studies with György Sándor and Leon Fleisher, who himself had studied under the legendary Artur Schnabel. The year 1987 became a turning point for Hélène Grimaud: after her recital debut in Tokyo, Daniel Barenboim invited the young talent to perform with the Orchestre de Paris. She had just celebrated her 18th birthday, and the concert became a kind of coronation—the beginning of a remarkably consistent international career. For nearly 40 years now, she has shone like a fixed star in the world of pianists. Yet originally, she had no intention of playing the piano—she much preferred the violin or cello because of their closeness to the human voice. To this day, as she revealed in an interview with Bavarian Radio, her greatest challenge is to “make the piano sing.” Turning an instrument of wood and metal into a living sound remains, for her, a miracle every time.

But Hélène Grimaud does not perform miracles only at the piano, conjuring magic from its 88 keys. With the same dedication, she is committed to nature conservation and social projects. She is a member of “Musicians for Human Rights,” an organization advocating for human rights and social change. Whenever possible, she also avoids air travel. Her deep connection to wolves is legendary—she even lived with these fascinating animals for a time. In 1999, she founded the Wolf Conservation Center near New York, which works on reintegrating wolves into the wild and serves as a center for environmental education.

Back to music, though—this is where the pianist’s heart truly lies, especially in the German Romantic repertoire. Among all composers, Johannes Brahms holds a special place for her. In an interview, she once jokingly said with a mischievous grin, “The rest is noise!” Her deep connection to the composer—who often appears serious and melancholic in photographs, with his distinctive unruly beard—is reflected not only on stage but also in her discography. On her most recent album, she played not only Brahms’ piano music but also his Lieder und Gesänge op. 32, together with baritone Konstantin Krimmel. She has also recorded his First Piano Concerto—first in 1997 with the Staatskapelle Berlin under Kurt Sanderling, and again in 2012 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andris Nelsons.

At the Ruhr Piano Festival, her musical partners will be the musicians of the Camerata Salzburg—an extremely promising combination. The pianist has had a close artistic partnership with the orchestra for some time now. “They play with so much soul and spirit. It’s as if you’re flying on your colleagues’ wings,” Hélène Grimaud enthuses about their collaboration. “What I love is this atmosphere of trust and the ability to take risks together.” Depth, freedom, courage, and adventure are other words she uses to describe their musical interplay. “As soon as the music started, it felt like magic,” recalls Giovanni Guzzo, concertmaster of the Camerata Salzburg, about a past performance together. “It always feels fresh, almost like improvisation, as if we were playing jazz. There is a true sense of friendship that comes through with every note, every phrase.”

Photo: Mat Hennek