Piano Concerto No 5 Emperer / Piano Sonata No 28

"This is without question the best recording that Hélène Grimaud has made for DG. The opening "Emperor" gushes forth like a sparkling fountain, at a freshly invigorating basic tempo. Give credit to Vladimir Jurowski for his excellent collaboration, and to a Staatskapelle Dresden that really stays on top of its collective toes. Grimaud even manages to make something special out of those upward scales that so often signal the pianist's entrances and exits . . . it's a fleeting memory at best, and the finale goes with all of the joyful enthusiasm that anyone could ask. If anything, the sonata is even finer . . . she simply plays really well, stylishly but with plenty of poetry too. The inner movements are particularly memorable: an alla Marcia full of rhythmic point and a truly cantabile adagio whose "affetto" never degenerates into mannerism. Grimaud potentially is one of the finest pianists in the business, and let's hope this release signals for her a new level of maturity and artistic depth. The sonics, by the way, are also very good, with Grimaud's piano particularly well-caught, and not too much performance noise. Impressive!"
ClassicsToday.com / 18 October 2007

"a big, large-boned interpretation, with good attention to Beethoven's articulation and slurring . . . In the slow movement . . . Grimaud plays her part expressively . . . The final Rondo is very present . . . one mustn't forget the A major Sonata, Op. 101, which completes the disc . . . One senses that somewhere within Hélène Grimaud there is a genuine questing artist."
International Record Review (London) / 01 October 2007