Great musicians are often interesting people, some with unusual hobbies. Even so, Hélène Grimaud is the rare pianist who spends her free time running with wolves.
At her farm in upstate New York, about an hour from Manhattan, the Frenchborn animal lover oversees the Wolf Conservation Center, where she’s considered a member of the pack. Never mind those steely jaws: “I’m fairly fatalistic,” she says. “I think if something’s going to happen, it will happen.”
Right now, she’s touring on behalf of her new CD recordings of Brahms Piano Concertos 1 and 2—works written 22 years apart. It’s a journey that will take her to Carnegie Hall on Dec. 6, when she performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Here are four books that are close to her heart.
The Way
by Kristen Wolf
Set in ancient Palestine, this imaginative novel is about an androgynous creature, born Anna, whose father plans to sell her to shepherds. She’s rescued by a society of women whose healing abilities and philosophy, the Way, sets her power free. Poetic and very intense, it opens up one’s spiritual horizons.
Eating Animals
by Jonathan Safran Foer
I was leaning toward vegetarianism when a friend sent this to me. It’s unequivocally convincing in its arguments about what it really means to be eating animals. I feel all our problems take root in this basic fact: a lack of respect for other beings. I’ve read Foer’s novels, and this book is particularly impressive because of its departure from what he usually does.
The Wall
by Marlen Haushofer
This is the story of a woman who goes into the mountains with friends, who leave her to go into town. The next day, she finds herself unable to join civilization: There’s an invisible wall around her. As she walks alongside it, she realizes all life outside that border has been extinguished.
Of Wolves and Men
by Barry Lopez
This is a wonderful exploration of the uneasy relation between people and wolves, drawing on science, mythology and [Lopez’s] own considerable experience with captive and free-ranging wolves. It emphasizes the fact that the wolf is a keystone for larger conservation efforts and how it remains very important to conserve them.