Together with her creative and life partner, photographer Mat Hennek, French star pianist Hélène Grimaud, known as “adventurous artist with a unique intuition” (KlassikAkzente), comes up with a multimedia concert project at the Grand Hall of Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. Grimaud’s virtuous piano performance is accompanied by Hennek’s highly praised photo series Woodlands, which depicts genuine portraits of trees, the results of numerous hikes through various forests in Europe and the USA. With works by Romantic and Impressionist composers, Grimaud leads her audience into the enchanting world of those various Woodlands and even beyond ...

According to Hélène Grimaud, Woodlands and beyond contains all the symbols of German Romanticism – what she considers to be the basis and precondition of the Romantic movement: “I find it especially interesting to read how many composers derived inspiration from walks in the forest. For me, nature is proof of spirituality. And music forges a link to the spiritual realm. What could be more logical, then, than to combine these two levels, creating a spacial atmosphere that
appeals to the audience in more than one dimension?”

Grimaud’s piano recital features international works by 19th and 20th century composers such as Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, Franz Liszt, Leoš Janáček, Claude Debussy, Luciano Berio and Tōru Takemitsu. They are connected by seven “Transitions”, written exclusively for Grimaud by British composer and DJ Nitin Sawhney.

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Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
6 Encores
3. Wasserklavier

Nitin Sawhney (*1964)
Water - Transition 1

Töru Takemitsu (1930-1996)
Rain Tree Sketch II

Nitin Sawhney
Water - Transition 2


Gabriel Faure (1845-1924)
Barcarolle Nr. 5 in fis-Moll Op. 66

Nitin Sawhney
Water - Transition 3

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Jeux d'eau, M. 30

Nitin Sawhney
Water - Transition 4

Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909)
lberia
5. Almerfa (Buch II)

Nitin Sawhney
Water - Transition 5

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Annees de pelerinage: 3eme annee, S.163
Les jeux d'eau a la villa d'Este

Nitin Sawhney
Water - Transition 6

Leos Janacek (1854-1928)
Im Nebel (V Mlhach)
1. Andante

Nitin Sawhney
Water - Transition 7

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Preludes (Buch 1)
La cathedrale engloutie