If you would like to vote for this cd please vote HERE

This is less about an album and more about a novel sound experience proposed by the pianist Hélène Grimaud in her latest album, released on January 29th, 2016 by Deutsche Grammophon. For Water is not just an album, it is a remarkable sound experience, which encompasses piano music, electronic music and most of all a very generous concept which perfectly suits Hélène Grimaud, who is well known for her dedication for preserving the environment.

Of course, in the turmoil of life, we tend to not think enough about how important water is for humanity: our bodies are mostly composed of water and so is our planet. We cannot imagine life without water, no plant will grow without it, and no organism can live in its absence.

A different sort of album

Hélène Grimaud proposes 60 minutes of reflection on the importance of water for our lives, and the means she has chosen to communicate this are original, as is she. The album was recorded during a live recital which took place in December 2014, as part of an installation realized by Hélène Grimaud and Douglas Gordon, a visual artist who won the Turner award in 1996, the most important British award presented to visual artists under the age of 50. The event was hosted by one of the most famous New York halls dedicated to contemporary art: Wade Thompson Drill Hall of the Park Avenue Armory.

What will we hear? A very interesting and cleverly constructed selection of pieces, in which we can sometimes hear the rippling of water from Douglas Gordon's installation. Hélène Grimaud has chosen some of the most famous pieces of the Romantic and the Impressionist repertoire with titles that allude to the theme of the album, such as: The Fountains of the Villa d'Este by Franz Liszt or Fountains by Maurice Ravel and The Sunken Cathedral by Claude Debussy. Also, pieces of the 20^th century: Wasserklavier by Luciano Berio, Rain Tree by Toru Takemitsu. Between all of these pieces there are transition pieces composed especially for this production by Nitin Sawhney, a British composer of Indian descent, whose electronic music merges resonances that hint at multiculturalism. It is indeed a completely different and innovative album, with a message that we should all take to heart, which is why we have included it in the Radio Romania Music campaign 'Vote for the classical album of 2016'.

A different sort of artist

We were all aware of Hélène Grimaud's passion for wolves; the album Water takes the pianist's preoccupation with the environment to another level, because it is true that we would all face a great threat should the Earth's water resources be endangered. The fact that with her piano playing Hélène Grimaud voices these extremely important and personal beliefs seems to make her a unique figure in the world's cultural landscape. Naturally, we are not only referring to her skilful piano playing - that is self-evident - we would point out how important artists are in contemporary times, which we would all do well to reflect on, particularly in Romania, where people seem to still be searching for values.

The album Water can be heard on Radio Romania Music on Monday, March 7^th, at 19.00, it will be aired once more on Sunday, March 13^th, at 13.05, or at any time on the site of the campaign 'Vote for the classical album of 2016'.