Rachmaninov - Corelli Variations [Grimaud]Rachmaninov's Corelli Variations are not his best known piano works, the 24 Preludes, or the 18 Etudes Tableaux are better known, or even the 6 Moments Musicaux feature more often, a bunch of variations can't stand alone like say a famous Rachmaninov Prelude can, they either all stand or all fall together, therefore it's harder for them to get into the consciousness of the public, but once you enter this wonderful world of Rachmaninov / Corelli, you're equally in the world of the Preludes / Etudes.
Helene Grimaud is certainly different, she stands out from the crowd of Pianists, she seems to plough her own furrow, some of her recital discs are a bit galling in that she mix and matches 'clashing' works, especially for the DG Label, where she seems very much at home with their ethos, she was born in France in 1969, and now at 40 she has the world at her feet, and an endless repertoire to choose from, and the freedom to pick and choose what she wants.
I'm very much warming to Helene Grimaud, she is a great Artist, she's a surprise and revelatory, i hope she does a lot of Chopin in the future, and certainly more Bach too, and for that matter i hope she turns her hands to Schubert as well.
The Corelli Variations are endless fun, virtuoso barnstorming one moment, quiet and reflective solitude the next, it's good to follow Rachmaninov's train of thought as he takes us on a journey from one station to the next, the variations i so much enjoyed the best are towards the end, variations 14-15 & 17, variation 14 [10:06+] is a lovely calm after the Intermezzo, variation 17 [13:00+] is jerky in the left hand, with a degree of tension, but it's variation 15 [10:57-12:31] i find is the highlight of the bunch, it's such sweetness, it has that timeless quality about it,
Here's Nikolai Lugansky playing the second part of the variations on YouTube, Variation 14 starts at 1:48, 15 at 3:02, and 17 at 5:14.
