A Russian Night (Incls Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2)

"Abbado has found a new maturity over the last years since right before his illness, and there is a new depth and richness to almost everything he conducts, from Beethoven to Mahler. This Tempest blazes with all of the wanton passion inherit in the score, and Abbado actually gives the work more than it deserves. Thrilling indeed. This is easily recommended to anyone wanting a souvenir of a memorable night in Switzerland."
(**** AudAud.com)

This is the first-ever concert DVD of Hélène Grimaud capturing her appearance with Claudio Abbado in a fascinating all-Russian concert programme recorded at Lucerne Festival in 2008. Claudio Abbado has invited Hélène for a variety of programmes since they first performed together in the early 90s and this is the first document of their collaboration, about which the Neue Züricher Zeitung wrote: "Grimaud played with naturalness and chamber-musical spirit….a phenomenal orchestra inspired by its charismatic conductor."

The repertoire of the DVD throws light on various facets of Russian life and music. Two works - Tchaikovsky's symphonic fantasia inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest and Stravinsky's concert suite from the fairytale ballet The Firebird - depict the dramatic struggle between the forces of good and evil and the ultimate triumph of the former. And Hélène Grimaud is the soloist in a performance of one of the beloved classics of the late Romantic repertoire, Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto. For Hélène Grimaud, to perform the concerto with Claudio Abbado was "a dream".

This DVD features behind-the-scenes material shows Hélène Grimaud in conversation and in rehearsal.