Helene Grimaud – will rue the day
Photo: Mat Hennek/DG
Valentina Lisitsa – saved the day
Photo: Iran Issa-Khan
Pianist Helene Grimaud spaced out and learned the wrong Beethoven concerto for her planned CSO appearances this weekend, and Portland favorite Valentina Lisitsa was called in to pinch hit for the Beethoven Emperor Concerto. Grimaud recently recorded the piece, so I cannot understand how she could possibly think she was playing something else (or have it so out of her fingers that she couldn’t quickly get it into performance shape). The performances were led by recent OSO guest conductor James Gaffigan.
Here’s an excerpt from the Chicago Sun-Times review:
Lisitsa is known for her manual dexterity and an ability to delineate individual notes in even the most torrential runs. And her filigrees hold our attention. She did not disappoint Saturday night. But she also seemed to take Beethoven’s majesty down a notch so that the elegant slow movement became the work’s musical as well as literal center.
I hope we get Valentina back for some non-Russian repertoire soon, she’s great in the Rachmaninoff/Tchaikovsky rep. with which she’s made her reputation, but I’d love to hear her play Beethoven, too.
2 replies on “lisitsa wows chi-town”
She should “know” all five of them in her sleep, plus all the Rachmaninoffs and a handful of Mozart concerti, what kind of concert pianist is she. Imagine a surgeon saying, well I cannot perform your gallbladder surgery tonight, have to freshen up!! It’s the bread and butter of surgery, any number of senior residents could do it!
I am amazed that Grimaud could commit such a serious blunder. I can’t ever recall a pianist bowing out of a performance because of learning the wrong piece. Grimaud can probably forget about ever performing with the CSO again.