A Rugged Elegance Inspiration Network Exclusive by Jennifer King

After a long day of walking and talking with establishment owners, we treated ourselves to our annual dinner at the Campton Place Bar followed by a night at the symphony.

A tradition we've had for the past eight years has been to go Christmas shopping in Union Square and then end up at Campton Place. Unfortunately, that indulgence went by the wayside, this past season. However, we made up for it last night.

While I miss the bar's old ambiance, there is a warmth about the recent Campton Place remodel designed by Hong Kong's Sylvia Chang.

I ordered a glass of J Champagne followed by French Onion Soup (no longer on the menu but still available) and a Caesar Salad. Tim ordered a glass of Rhone wine, the Lobster Bisque and a Caesar. (The Rhone wine was a Gigondas, Chateau de Montmiral (2000) -- a truly powerful wine and one we highly recommend.)

While the ambiance has changed, the quality of the food has not, nor the annual tradition that surrounds this dinner.

After discussing our successes of the day, I asked the bartender for a pad of paper and pencil. With both in hand, we begin to reflect on 2003. Our tradition: to create a list of our Top Ten Angels of The Past Year.

Over the years, the list has grown to include: our Top Ten Devils, our Top Ten New People of The Year, our most fun adventures and our favorite movies. (Clearly, Cold Mountain will go on the 2003 list.)

Since we were on our way to the symphony, we did not get to complete our entire 2003 list. It dawned on both of us that this exercise is the origin of our focus on "rugged elegant" People, Places, Products, Performances, Prose and Photographs.

Clearly, a contender for one of our favorite performances of 2004 will be the one by pianist, Hélène Grimaud together with the San Francisco Symphony. If you missed last night's performance, Vladimir Ashkenazy will take the podium again this afternoon with Ms. Grimaud at 2pm.

Likewise, you can experience Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Opus 58 on Friday or Saturday, January 16 and 17 at 8pm. After Grimaud and her Steinway leave the stage, the symphony under Ashkenazy's direction performs Richard Strauss' An Alpine Symphony, Opus 64. Both are magnificent!

Immediately, you can tell Hélène is performing one of her favored repertories. She prefers Beethoven, along with Brahms, Rachmaninov, Schumann, and Liszt, Poulenc, and Chopin.

We were fortunate to sit in the middle of Davies Symphony Hall, just a couple of rows from the stage. It was a fascinating experience to sit at the feet of Hélène Grimaud, watching her silently mouth instruction to herself as she performed Beethoven's Concerto No. 4. As the piece intensified so did Hélène, looking towards the heavens and inhaling deeply as if seeking inspiration from Beethoven or, perhaps, God himself. In this, she succeeded brilliantly and the crowd responded with a standing ovation.

Although born in France, Grimaud has not identified herself with French culture and music. She is of North African, Corsican, and Italian Jewish heritage (her family changed its name from Grimaldi before she was born) and from her early adulthood she has been based in the United States.

Grimaud started studying the piano at nine with Jacqueline Courtin of the Aix Conservatoire. After only three years, she was able to play Schumann's Papillons, and the first movement of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata. After further lessons with Pierre Barbizet in Marseilles, she entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 13. By the time, she was only 16, her first recording, Rachmaninov's Sonata No. 2 and Etudes-Tableaux, Opus 33, garnered a Grand Prix du Disque.

In 1987, she began playing concerts outside the conservatory, including an engagement at age 18 with Daniel Barenboim and the Orchestre de Paris (only her fourth public concert).

Today, she makes her home in upstate New York. In 1997, following another passion, she established the educational non-profit Wolf Conservation Center. She looks more like Steffi Graf's little sister than the "Wolfe Lady," a name to which she is often referred.

If you are unable to indulge in one of Hélène's three upcoming performances in San Francisco, you can click on "Related Products" below and purchase one of four CDs we highlighted.

Thank you Ms. Grimaud, Mr. Ashkenazy, and The San Francisco Symphony, for a perfect ending to a very long day!

~Jennifer

P.S. Heléne's performance was so inspirational, I'm going to figure out some way for my five and eight-year old daughters, both budding pianists, to experience one of the three remaining concerts.