Hélène Grimaud is about to join the Czech Philharmonic and Jiří Bělohlávek for a UK tour performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 5.
First stop is Birmingham Symphony Hall on 12 April where the Birmingham Post recently printed a feature in praise of the top pianists performing in the city this month “Grimaud is a commanding soloist, bringing as much commitment to her playing as she does to her campaigning on behalf of conservation and human rights. Like Stephen Hough, she is a prolific writer on subjects which engage her, and she has received prestigious awards from the French government for her artistic endeavors.”
Further performances follow at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall (13 April) and Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall (14 April) where Hélène’s performance of the Emperor Concerto is framed by works by two of the most celebrated Czech orchestral composers – Smetana and Dvořák.
This tour follows hot on the heels of last month’s acclaimed performances with the London Philharmonic and Vladimir Jurowski where Hélène Grimaud performed Beethoven’s fourth Piano Concerto… The New York Times wrote of the Lincoln Center concert “… the exquisite French pianist Hélène Grimaud imbued Beethoven’s concerto with profound humanity and compassion … Ms. Grimaud’s deeply affecting rendition of the piano concerto traveled an enormous arc from the first hesitant chords to the painful vulnerability of the slow movement to the boisterous triumph of the finale.”
