Sokolov | Schubert & Beethoven album cover via Deutsche Grammophon.

For some years I have suspected Grigory Sokolov to be a genius. If he were asked about this term, he would probably scoff at such a suggestion. For this artist places himself against the highest values and ideals. Here is a man who contemplates through hours of silence the meaning of the repertoire he performs, who polishes the rhetoric of everything he performs to perfection, who scrutinises every aspect of the instrument he plays, its touch and voicing. Nothing is left to chance. Sadly, he has more recently chosen not to perform concerti with orchestras owing to the lack of time necessary to form a true rapport. We may think this ‘all too precious’ until we hear the poetry and depth of this solo recording, live performances from Warsaw (May, 2013) and the Salzburg Festival (August, 2013). Everything sings and glows of its original intent. There is a profoundly deep and natural sense of the genuine in his playing. Beautifully weighted and intelligently conveyed, nothing is glib, showy or superficial.

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But Sokolov is elusive; he rarely records and is almost never interviewed. He believes that music speaks for itself. I suspect that like the late Gustav Leonhardt he places himself as a servant to every score he performs. A wave of contemporary musicology mocks and ridicules the concept of ‘greatness’, particularly when attributed to one individual. But I suggest if you have any doubt of what greatness amounts to, here is a very strong argument. The recording comprises Schubert’s Impromptus, D 899 and Three Piano Pieces, D 916 as well as Beethoven’s Sonata No 29 in B flat major, Op 106 ‘Hammerklavier’ along with exquisite encores, alone worth the price of the recording, by Rameau and Brahms (the Intermezzo in B flat minor, Op 117 No 2).

My advice is to buy everything that Sokolov records.

Rating: Five stars out of five



Sokolov | Schubert & Beethoven



Deutsche Grammophon

479 5426

2 CDs

Live from Warsaw and Salzburg

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