The expressive beauty and compelling honesty of Grigory Sokolov’s art are based on the unique, unrepeatable nature of music in the present moment. The Russian pianist’s poetic interpretations, which come to life with a mystical intensity, derive from an in-depth knowledge of the works in his vast repertoire. His recital programs cover everything from transcriptions of medieval sacred polyphony and keyboard works by Byrd, Couperin, Rameau and Froberger to the music of Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms and landmark 20th-century compositions by Prokofiev, Ravel, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Schoenberg and Stravinsky. He is widely recognized among piano enthusiasts as one of today’s greatest pianists, an artist universally admired for his visionary insight, spellbinding spontaneity and uncompromising dedication to music.
Grigory Sokolov was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on April 18, 1950. He gave his first recital in Leningrad in 1962. A prodigious talent, he was recognized in 1966 when, at the age of 16, he became the youngest musician to win the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow. Emil Gilels, president of the Tchaikovsky Competition jury, then defended Sokolov’s work.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sokolov began appearing in Europe’s major concert halls and festivals. He performed extensively as a soloist with orchestras of the highest calibre, before concentrating exclusively on solo recitals. Maestro Sokolov gives around 70 concerts each season, immersing himself fully in a single program and traveling the length and breadth of Europe.
After two decades without any recordings, Sokolov has signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Their partnership has led to the publication of several recordings, all of them from live concerts.
The expressive beauty and compelling honesty of Grigory Sokolov’s art are based on the unique, unrepeatable nature of music in the present moment. The Russian pianist’s poetic interpretations, which come to life with a mystical intensity, derive from an in-depth knowledge of the works in his vast repertoire. His recital programs cover everything from transcriptions of medieval sacred polyphony and keyboard works by Byrd, Couperin, Rameau and Froberger to the music of Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Brahms and landmark 20th-century compositions by Prokofiev, Ravel, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Schoenberg and Stravinsky. He is widely recognized among piano enthusiasts as one of today’s greatest pianists, an artist universally admired for his visionary insight, spellbinding spontaneity and uncompromising dedication to music.
Grigory Sokolov was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) on April 18, 1950. He began playing the piano at the age of five, and two years later began studying with Liya Zelikhman at the Central Special School of the Leningrad Conservatory. He then took lessons from Moisey Khalfin at the Leningrad Conservatory, and gave his first recital in Leningrad in 1962. Sokolov’s prodigious talent was recognized in 1966 when, at the age of 16, he became the youngest musician to win the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow. Emil Gilels, president of the Tchaikovsky Competition jury, then defended Sokolov’s work.
Although Grigory Sokolov undertook extensive concert tours of the USA and Japan in the 1970s, his art evolved and matured away from the international spotlight. His live recordings from the Soviet era have acquired a quasi-mythical status in the West, testifying to an artist who is at once totally individual, unlike any other, yet who draws on the rich soil of the Russian tradition of piano playing. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sokolov began appearing in Europe’s major concert halls and festivals. He has performed extensively as a soloist with orchestras of the highest calibre, working with the New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Philharmonia London, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Munich Philharmonic, among others, before deciding to concentrate exclusively on solo recitals. Maestro Sokolov gives around 70 concerts each season, immersing himself fully in a single program and traveling the length and breadth of Europe.
Unlike many pianists, Mr. Sokolov takes a keen interest in the mechanism and tuning of the instruments he plays. He spends hours exploring their physical characteristics, consulting and collaborating with piano technicians to achieve his ideal requirements. “It takes hours to understand the piano, because everyone has their own personality and we play together,” he explains. The partnership between artist and instrument is of paramount importance to the flow of Sokolov’s musical ideas. Using the sustain pedal sparingly, he evokes everything from the subtlest tonal and textural gradations to the boldest sonic contrasts, thanks to the brilliance of his fingerwork.
Critics regularly draw attention to his astonishing ability to articulate individual voices within a complex polyphonic texture, and to project seamless melodic lines.
Grigory Sokolov’s charismatic artistry has the power to cultivate the concentration necessary for audiences to contemplate even the most familiar compositions in a new light. In recital, he leads listeners to establish a close relationship with the music, transcending questions of appearance and spectacle to reveal a deeper spiritual meaning. Sokolov’s art rests on the solid foundations of his unique personality and individual vision.
After two decades without any recordings, Sokolov has signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Their partnership has resulted in the publication of several recordings, all of them from live concerts. For his first album in 2015, the Russian pianist chose a concert he had given in 2008 at the Salzburg Festival, with works by Mozart, Chopin, Bach, Rameau and Scriabin; a second album followed a year later, with works by Schubert and Beethoven. His third album, released in 2017, features live interpretations of piano concertos by Mozart and Rachmaninov. These CD recordings are accompanied by a DVD of Nadia Zhdanova’s documentary “A Conversation That Never Was: a portrait of Grigory Sokolov”, compiled from interviews with his friends and colleagues and previously unreleased private recordings. In 2020, a double CD with DVD featuring works by Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart was followed in April 2022 by the release of a concert recording at the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt, including three Haydn sonatas, Schubert’s Four Impromptus D. 935 and a generous selection of encores.
