Product Description

A celebrated French pianist's poignant story of her journey from her early days as a student in Paris to her life as the founder of a wolf conservation center in upstate New York.

A gifted pianist from a young age, Hélène Grimaud made her first recording at the age of fifteen and won the French equivalent of a Grammy at sixteen. She is a classical music star whose concerts continue to draw sellout crowds all over Europe and North America. But it wasn't until she met her first wolf that she discovered there was something missing in her life.

Late one night in 1991, Grimaud encountered a wolf-dog hybrid in Florida and felt an immediate, instinctual connection to the animal-one that the wolf also seemed to share. Determined to do what she could to protect this threatened species, she committed her time and resources to becoming certified to found her own wolf preserve on the grounds of her home in New York State. Today, the master pianist acts as a tireless advocate for wolves, a species she believes has been unfairly demonized throughout history. In turn, the animals have given her a sense of freedom that she has never before experienced, even as an artist.

In a beautifully rendered personal story that weaves the tale of a musical prodigy's rise to stardom with one of an animal lover learning to communicate on a level as primal as music, Hélène Grimaud touches, astonishes, and delights with her remarkable insight and passion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #620773 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Booklist
A renowned classical pianist, Helene Grimaud explores life with passion, stating, "I have never had the feeling of a paradise lost, but of a paradise to be found." Her islands of bliss are classical music and the sanctuary she created for wolves. Growing up in France, her talent for the piano was evident early on, and at 13 she became the youngest student at the National Conservatory of Music. A determined prodigy who shouldered responsibility for her path even when she stumbled, she shaped her musical gift in her own way. She met her first wolf in Florida, and the intense recognition seemed to be mutual. Grimaud's deep friendship with the wolf and her owner, Dennis, inspired her to establish a wolf sanctuary in upstate New York and to become a wolf advocate. As Grimaud celebrates both the transcendental power of music and the beauty, spirit, and significance of wolves, her eloquent and inspiring reflections embody her love for and total involvement in her work and nature. Pamela Crossland
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Born in Aix-en-Provence, Hélène Grimaud was accepted into the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris at the age of thirteen. Her international concert career began in 1987, and she performs regularly worldwide. She lives with her husband and four wolves.

Customer Reviews

emotion is everything
She is looking for the right place in her life. Most of the people are looking for a meaning to live for.
Helene Grimaud wants to capture this feeling with her book. She decided to be in the music. It is her religion to keep on going. The balance lies in the symmetry of life, music and nature. It is her way to cope with her life. In this harmony she finds her relief and strength. She explains her love for the music, witch touches her soul, her love for the animals and her free dealing with nature. These are the real balances in her life.
The book describes her childhood in Aix, her studies at the conservatory in Aix and Paris. In her early years she showed her rebellion behaviour against her parents and her classmates. These examples show her unrestrained nature, her passion for the music and the strength to carry on in her life. For the most people who work with her, this attitude makes her moody and unpredictable. In the last chapter she explains her love for wolfs, her first meeting with Alawas. The early years in America were very difficult. She describes the foundation of the Wolf Conservation Centre.
I read the book with pleasure because the connection between the stories and her musical career is very powerful. This book shares a common feeling. It is to be positive in the things to come and to accomplish your goals what ever it takes.

A true example of the "It's all about me" culture
I received this book as a gift, because I come from a family that operates wildlife rehabilitation and rescue centers. As a person who has worked with wolves, I really looked forward to a good read, hopefully something that explored the difficulties faced by all rescue workers, and exotic animal rehab centers in particular.

I was gravely disappointed. The majority of references to wolves were from European religious texts, and as an American Indian, I was really struck by the fact that there was very little reference to wolves in the Americas. The portrayal of wolves, historically, was framed almost entirely within European terms, and while I understand that the author is French, I feel that she basically played pick and choose in order to build her own self purported image of the "wild woman". Wolves aren't portrayed as a passion, as effort, as complex in their own behavior and history, so much as glossed over as a crutch in her own justification for her self immolative behavior.

The inherent build of character I noticed in this book, was of a woman who believed that as a talented artist, she was entitled to absolutely disregard the emotions and practicalities of everybody around her. As a human, she came across as utterly egotistical, and it seemed that the entire book was her way of justifying her "me first" attitude in the framework of "I can't help it, I'm compulsive, uncontrollable, and unimitable, I'm just a wild woman, I'm a wolf in human skin, I can do whatever I want because I'm beautiful, intelligent, talented, and therefore superior beyond your strictures." This kind of naked and unabashed refusal to accept personal accountability is hardly what we need to see glorified in print, although unfortunately, it is all too pervasive.

For those who have enjoyed her music, I can only hope that she displays more depth of character in her playing than she did in her writing. I can say that I won't be searching for her cd's any day soon. Perhaps it is all too disturbing to me, the vacancy of soul disguised as a higher calling to art, for me to be okay with pursuing it further. This book may have value to those who enjoy music, but to those who are hoping for an informative read on wolves, keep browsing.

insightful delightful, but not easy to read "Un" autobiography
WILD HARMONIES is an insightful delightful "Un" autobiography that breaks the rules of chronological order most books in that genre follow. Instead, the renowned French pianist is all over the place yet contains enough discipline so that the reader can follow her story. Most interesting is the combining of a love for music with a love for wolves. The music started as an unmanageable and unpredictable child in France while the love of wolves began as an adult in Florida when she met her neighbor's she-wolf. As she did with the piano Helene Grimaud became an obsessed fanatic who has opened up a wolverine conservatory in Upstate New York.

Readers will appreciate the sidebar reflections as Ms. Grimaud relates her life with music freeing her from a dull un-life though she has always refused to perform anyway but her style. The isobar lateral entries on the history of wolves in Europe and America add to the feel of a deep zealous uncompromising autobiography that is not for everyone from an author who would say so what as long as Ms. Grimaud believes she has remained true to her essence. Not an easy memoir to read, but well written and worth the time to comprehend the odd passionate combination of a "Life of Music and Wolves".

Harriet Klausner