Hélène Grimaud Essentials

Discovered and recorded in her teens, Grimaud has made a huge number of recordings with an increasingly imaginative approach to programming. After taping some barnstorming works as a youngster—Brahms' piano concertos hold few terrors for her—her DG projects are wonderfully curated. Her Credo album combines Beethoven, Corigliano and Arvo Pärt to really provocative and rewarding ends. When she's not touring the world, she is involved with a sanctuary for wolves that she cofounded in New York state: not the usual off-duty hobby for a world-class classical pianist.