Playing of emotional maturity
Hélène Grimaud (piano)
Deutsche Grammophon
E477 5325
For the Sonata’s opening Grave, the French pianist ★élène Grimaud carefully places its lower notes rather than emphasise their percussive qualities as many of her colleagues have done. This seemingly nonchalant approach, however, yields a more subtle, thoughtful type of drama; and she spins the doppio movimento part of the first movement into an effective foreshadowing of the third movement’s march. There are no dizzying tempos here, but there is an understated urgency and propulsion to the music.
The march itself is quietly provocative; Grimaud maintains a sense of restraint throughout the movement, pulling back with a deep sensitivity. Unlike other readings, where the rubato threatens to undermine the entire thrust of the music, Grimaud keeps everything in balance. She draws out the delicacy of the main
Grimaud lends an understated urgency and propulsion to the music
melody in a way that other recordings tend to overlook. This is more of a tiptoe than a march; a risky approach, but one that pays dividends. The music becomes filmic: there is a deeper, darker game afoot.
The finale shivers into action, not venturing above mezzo-forte until that final sforzando. Grimaud’s enviable technique makes it appear as though the sound is being poured from a jug; a liquidity of phrase that makes the final chord appear from nowhere. DG’S studio recording ensures that every note is in high definition, and the overall effect is a stark contrast to the historical mono recordings (see Cortot and Rubinstein, above), in which the background interference impacts the sound quality.
Similarly, the Steinway grand is colourful, and naturally capable of a far greater range than the instruments used in the historical recordings. Much of the Sonata is restricted to the piano’s middle octaves, and Grimaud – a Steinway artist since 2000 – manages to make passages
such as the trio in the second movement sing in a way that surely would have had Chopin wishing he could exchange his Pleyel for a modern keyboard.
At the time of the CD’S release in 2005, Chopin’s muscular works were not yet fixtures in Grimaud’s programming; the French pianist was attracting acclaim for her Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Chopin has since featured regularly in her thematic surveys on disc, including her most recent 2018 release, Memory.
The first movement of the Sonata, in this 2005 version, is also included on the compilation album Perspectives (DG, 2017).