“Was practicing Mozart really so bad, Madame Grimaud? Given the intermittent brutality with which French pianist Hélène Grimaud approached the A minor Sonata, this is a legitimate question.

“As if unleashing the bane of early childhood trauma on the masterpiece, she whipped her way through the opening Allegro with the speed of a Presto on Thursday evening. She gave the audience no mercy right up to the last note. Not even the Andante cantabile moments were left to breathe. This powerful approach has been so consistent, so technically sound that it was captivating and leaves you waiting with baited breath for her first-ever Mozart recording …”

Read the full review of Hélène Grimaud’s Vienna recital in German online at the Wiener Zeitung