Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin :: Grigory Sokolov: Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms [Box Set]

Grigory Sokolov - The (Almost) Unknown Major Pianist

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of the best-kept secrets in the piano world is the amazing Grigory Sokolov, a man in his fifties who won the Tchaikovsky Prize in 1966 at the age of sixteen. He has been somewhat reclusive. tending to play in Europe only, and has generally not made studio recordings, but among the cognoscenti his recitals are sought after and often sold out. All the music recorded in this five-CD box has been released on single CDs before (and as a box from Opus 111), and is here offered at budget price. I have owned three of the five previously. Earlier this year I also reviewed a marvelous DVD of a recital he gave in the Châtelet and filmed by the redoubtable Bruno Monsaingeon. Since Amazon has not yet included the contents of this box (or even told us how many CDs are included) I will list them now:



CDs 1 & 2: Bach: Art of Fugue; Partita No. 2



CD 3: Beethoven: Rondos in C Major and G Major, Op. 51; Rondo, 'Rage over a lost penny,' Op. 129; Sonata No. 4 in E Flat Major, Op. 7; Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101



CD 4: Chopin: 24 Préludes, Op. 28



CD 5: Brahms: Ballades, Op. 10; Sonata in F Minor, Op. 5



Possibly the most marvelous thing about Sokolov's playing is his variety of touch. He can play in a tiny whisper, with a lightning fast leggiero, with deep-in-the-keys but never clangy fortissimo. His legato is legendary and he tends to obtain it more by finger technique than with pedaling. One can argue with his interpretive choices but never with his musicianship or sincerity, and certainly not with his almost inhuman virtuosity.



All five CDs were recorded live in recital and in gorgeous sound. There does not appear to be much in the way of editing. There are a very few dropped notes, but on the whole the playing is incredibly accurate as well as being musicianly. His 'Art of Fugue' is rather a combination of some Romantic gestures coupled with a purity of tone that depends more on touch than on pedaling. His Brahms is a bit more Romantic but is not sentimental -- something is that is not easy to avoid in the Ballades particularly. His Beethoven is much the same. 'Rage over a lost penny' is the most exciting performance I've ever heard since I heard Brendel play it live in the 1960s. Sokolov, like Michelangeli (to whom he has been compared), does not play many of the Beethoven sonatas, but the ones he plays are his utterly.



The Chopin is the glory of this set. It sings, whispers and roars as need be. It is ultraromantic and yet is not maudlin or sickly sentimental. This is masculine Chopin.



At this bargain price this set is a must-have, I should think, for those who enjoy masterful playing and are willing to become acquainted with a heretofore unknown pianist sometimes called 'the new Sviatoslav Richter.'



Scott Morrison

"

Out of this world

M. Gurhan Kulle | Istanbul, Sisli, Turkey | 10/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mr. Sokolov is THE Pianist. He is a poet with a stand apart from all others in the past and at present. If you have rarely heard his name or think he might be just another classical fully trained pianist, you are mistaken. If you have not heard him play, you have not heard how a piano is an instrument of music. Both this and the other five sets contain pure live recorded accounts of excellent compositions. Recordings make you feel you listen to a live performance. When listening to a good interpretation it should knock your head off. This gentlemen does it so many times that one loses the count."