Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov (Russian:Григо́рий Ли́пманович Соколо́в; born April 18, 1950) is a Russian[1] pianist withSpanish citizenship.[2] He is among the most esteemed of living pianists,[3][4][5] his repertoire spanning composers from theBaroque period such asBach,Couperin orRameau up toSchoenberg andArapov. He regularly tours Europe (excluding the UK) and resides in Italy.[citation needed]
Sokolov was born inLeningrad (Russian SSR,Soviet Union, nowSaint Petersburg)[6] to Jewish father Lipman Girshevich Sokolov and Russian mother Galina Nikolayevna Zelenetskaya. He began studying thepiano at the age of five and entered theLeningrad Conservatory's special school for children at the age of seven to study withLeah Zelikhman.[7] After graduating from the children's school, he continued studying at theConservatory with Moisey Khalfin.[8][9] At 12, he gave his first major recital inMoscow, in a concert of works byBach,Beethoven,Schumann,Chopin,Mendelssohn,Rachmaninoff,Scriabin,Liszt,Debussy andShostakovich at the Philharmonic Society.[10] At age 16, he came to international attention when he was awarded the gold medal in the 1966International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, making him the youngest ever winner.[11][12] It seems this may have been a surprising result: "16-year old Grisha Sokolov, who finally became the winner of that competition, was not taken seriously by anyone at that time."[13]
"He possesses brilliant finger and chord technique, he easily wields the piano, so easily that he performs the prestissimo of the last movement of theSaint-Saëns Concerto No. 2 with truly refined lightness. It was a startling performance. Doubtless we are going to hear much more about this young talented pianist..."[14]
Despite his success at the Tchaikovsky Competition in his youth, Sokolov's international career only began to develop towards the end of the 1980s. It has been speculated[15] that this was because of his not defecting and the limited travelling allowed under the Soviet regime, but this is refuted by the fact that Sokolov gave U.S. tours in 1969, 1971, 1975 and 1979,[16] as well as numerous recitals elsewhere in the world, egFinland andJapan. "Sokolov's life as a touring soloist is quite overcrowded. He tours a great deal in both his motherland and abroad."[16]The 1980s seem to have posed something of a stumbling block to Sokolov's career in the U.S. "In the beginning, I played a lot of single concerts in America, in 1969, '71 and, I think, 1975. After that there was a break in relationships between the U.S. and the Soviet Union — they were disconnected by theAfghanistan war. A scheduled tour in the U.S. was cancelled in 1980. Then all cultural agreements between the two countries were cancelled."[17][18] In addition, during the breakup of the former Soviet Union, Sokolov played no concerts outside Russia.
He is now a well-known figure in concert halls around Europe, but much less so in the U.S.[19] Sokolov has released relatively few recordings to date, and released none for the 20 years between 1995[19] and 2015. But in 2014 he signed a contract withDeutsche Grammophon to release recordings of some of his live performances,[20] and in 2015 he released a 2-CD live Salzburg recital featuring two sonatas byMozart, Chopin's cycle of 24 Preludes, and encore pieces by Scriabin, Chopin, Rameau, Purcell and Bach.
In August 2022, he was grantedSpanish nationality.[2]
In March 2009, Sokolov cancelled a planned concert in London because of Britishvisa requirements demanding that all non-E.U. workers provide fingerprints and eye prints with every visa application (he also cancelled his 2008 concert on seemingly similar grounds). Sokolov protested that such requirements had echoes ofSoviet oppression.[21]
After British music journalistNorman Lebrecht received theCremona Music Award 2014, Sokolov, upon learning of his being awarded the Cremona Music Award 2015, refused to accept the honour, making this statement on his website: "According to my ideas about elementary decency, it is shame to be in the same award-winners list with Lebrecht."[22] Sokolov's statement appeared to refer to personal remarks Lebrecht had made about Sokolov's family.[23]
Sokolov cited the following pianists as having inspired him in his years of studies:"Of those whom I heard on the stage I'd like to name first of allEmil Gilels. Judging by the records, it wasRachmaninoff,Sofronitsky,Glenn Gould,Solomon [and]Lipatti. As to aesthetics, I feel most close toAnton Rubinstein."[24]
In 2006, Sokolov explained his decision to give fewer concerto performances. Among the adverse factors he cited were inadequate rehearsal time and that one can rarely pair with a conductor whose approach fits his own. He also said that by repeating his solo programs in many venues over time, he deepens his interpretations, whereas a concerto performance starts over at the first rehearsal in each engagement.[25]
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Sokolov originally published on the "Opus 111" label, later acquired byNaïve Records. Since 2015 he has been represented byDeutsche Grammophon.
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