Great Pianists: Grigory Sokolov

Image from © Anna Flegontova

Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov prefers playing recitals, just him and the grand piano on stage. He is very precise about that grand piano; the instrument must meet his wishes exactly and match the sound he has in mind. At the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Sokolov chooses the sounds of two quintessential piano composers: Beethoven and Schubert.

Great Pianists: Grigory Sokolov

Dates

Sun 7 Jun20:15 - 22:30

Location

Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Concertgebouwplein 10, 1071 LN Amsterdam

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Grigory Sokolov

It takes many hours to get to know a grand piano well, according to Grigory Sokolov. Every instrument has its own personality, and he wants to fathom it. After all, they play together. It is, therefore, always Sokolov and his instrument: a dimly lit hall with only a spotlight focused on the pianist and the grand piano. Sokolov prefers playing recitals, where the content remains a surprise until the very end. Adventure is guaranteed with this Russian maverick.

Beethoven and Schubert

For this evening, Grigory Sokolov has chosen two piano composers of exceptional caliber: Beethoven and Schubert. The opening piece is Beethoven's Fourth Sonata . An early work, which Beethoven composed when he was 27. Yet in terms of structure, length, and virtuosity, the sonata already reveals the composer's ambitions. Ambitions that Beethoven, by his own account, fully realized in his *Sechs Bagatellen *. Beethoven wrote to his publisher about these 'musical trifles': 'probably the best bagatelles I have ever written'. After the intermission, Sokolov gives ample space to a composer who was strongly inspired by Beethoven: Franz Schubert. From his hand comes the imposing Sonata in B-flat major , D960, the last Schubert would compose.