Credo by
Hélène Grimaud is one of the most effectively sequenced discs ever released. The movement from the hazy postmodernism of
John Corigliano's Fantasia on an Ostinato for solo piano and the passionate Romanticism of
Beethoven's Tempest Sonata for solo piano, then on through the Enlightenment ecstasy of
Beethoven's Choral Fantasia for piano solo, orchestra, and chorus, and culminating in the nihilist excesses of
Arvo Pärt's massive Credo for piano solo, orchestra, and chorus, is musically and dramatically overwhelming. Individually, the effectiveness of her performances is debatable. Is her
Corigliano Fantasia melancholy and pensive or slightly narcissistic? Is her
Beethoven Tempest individualistically radical or almost eccentric? Is her
Beethoven Choral Fantasia with
Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Swedish Radio Choir brilliantly postmodern or just strange? And is
Grimaud and
Salonen's
Pärt Credo anything but a metaphor for life itself: mostly boring, sometimes unbearable, and occasionally very beautiful? Taken all together as a single aesthetic act,
Grimaud's Credo is nevertheless completely compelling while it's happening, and what more can one ask of a work of art? Deutsche Grammophon's sound has never been more translucent and immediate.