Inspired by the Romantic storyteller E. T. A. Hoffmann’s eccentric alter ego, Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana is a work Hélène Grimaud has known since she was a teenager and has recorded once before – yet, as she says, “you can spend a lifetime with a piece like this and always find something new”. In revisiting it here, she’s paired it with two pieces by Schumann’s protégé, Johannes Brahms, including a set of songs in which Brahms distilled his unrequited love for Schumann’s widow Clara, and for which Grimaud is partnered by sensational young baritone Konstantin Krimmel. The Extended Edition of her album For Clara complements pianist Hélène Grimaud’s recording of Schumann’s Kreisleriana and Brahm’s Op. 117 Intermezzi and Op. 32 songs with a recording of her 2022 performance of the Schumann Piano Concerto with the Camerata Salzburg at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. The second movement, which is now available, gives a first impression of Hélène Grimaud performing one of the most widely recorded piano concertos from the Romantic period.

Hélène Grimaud is a pianist who defies feminine stereotypes. Her favored repertory has been Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Schumann, and Liszt, not the less muscular music of Mozart (which she didn't perform until she was 21 or record until 2010), Poulenc, or Chopin. Grimaud's lush sound and sweeping interpretations drew comparisons to such pianists as Martha Argerich and Jorge Bolet.

Hélène Grimaud's 2010 album Resonances has a program with a unifying theme, though some explaining is needed to tease it out of the music. All of the works presented on this CD are notable products of the musical heritage of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the connections Grimaud makes go backward in time to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then pass through Franz Liszt to Alban Berg and Béla Bartók.

Known for her poetic expression and peerless technical control, French pianist Hélène Grimaud is one of the most sought-after artists performing with leading orchestras, in chamber music, and in solo recitals internationally and is an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon recording artist. A multi-faceted Renaissance woman with a deep dedication to her musical career, Hélène also nurtures passionate environmental, literary, and artistic interests.