Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov (russian: Григо́рий Ли́пманович Соколо́в; born April 18, 1950) is a Russian pianist naturalized

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

. He is among the most esteemed of living pianists, his repertoire spanning composers from the Baroque period such as

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

Couperin The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Co ...

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera a ...

up to Schoenberg and Arapov. He regularly tours Europe (excluding the UK) and resides in Italy.

Biography

Sokolov was born in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, now

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, to Jewish father Lipman Girshevich Sokolov and Russian mother Galina Nikolayevna Zelenetskaya. He began studying the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

at the age of five and entered the

Leningrad Conservatory The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as th ...

's special school for children at the age of seven to study with Leah Zelikhman. After graduating from the children's school, he continued studying at the Conservatory with Moisey Khalfin. At 12, he gave his first major recital in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, in a concert of works by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, Chopin,

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

and

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

at the Philharmonic Society. At age 16, he came to international attention when he was awarded the gold medal in the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, making him the youngest ever winner. 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." Despite his Tchaikovsky Competition success, Sokolov's international career began to develop only towards the end of the 1980s. Some have speculated that his not defecting and the limited travelling allowed under the Soviet regime were to blame. This is contradicted by the fact that Sokolov gave U.S. tours in 1969, 1971, 1975 and 1979, as well as numerous recitals elsewhere in the world such as

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

and Japan. "Sokolov's life as a touring soloist is quite overcrowded. He tours a great deal in both his motherland and abroad." 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 the

Afghanistan war War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

. A scheduled tour in the U.S. was cancelled in 1980. Then all cultural agreements between the two countries were cancelled." Grigory Sokolov

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. Sokolov has released relatively few recordings to date, and released none for the 20 years between 1995 and 2015. But in 2014 he signed a contract with

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family o ...

to release recordings of some of his live performances, and in 2015 he released a 2-CD live Salzburg recital featuring two sonatas by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, Chopin's cycle of 24 Preludes, and encore pieces by Scriabin, Chopin, Rameau and Bach. In August 2022, the Spanish government granted him Spanish nationality.

Public statements

In March 2009, Sokolov cancelled a planned concert in London because of British visa requirements demanding that all non-

E.U. The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

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 of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

oppression. After British music critic

Norman Lebrecht Norman Lebrecht (born 11 July 1948) is a British music journalist and author who specializes in classical music. He is best known as the owner of the classical music blog, ''Slipped Disc'', where he frequently publishes articles. Unlike other ...

received the

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' (Po Valley). It is the capital of the ...

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." Sokolov's statement appeared to refer to personal remarks Lebrecht had made about Sokolov's family.

Influences

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 all

Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels ( Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and educati ...

. Judging by the records, it was

, Sofronitsky,

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

, Solomon nd Lipatti. As to aesthetics, I feel most close to

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the S ...

Repertoire

The 14 CDs (2 of Bach, 2 of Beethoven, 2 of Schubert, 2 of Chopin, 1 of Brahms, and 1 of Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev—all recorded by the label Opus 111, plus a 2-CD 2008 recital set released in 2015 and another 2-CD set taken from recitals in 2013 and released in 2016, both issued by DG on CD and LP) and 1 DVD (a live recital in Paris) that are currently (2015) available for Sokolov constitute a snapshot of the repertoire that Sokolov has so far performed. There is now a second (DG) DVD, of a concert (including the 'Hammerklavier' Sonata) recorded in the Berlin Philharmonie on June 5, 2013. This DVD was directed by

Bruno Monsaingeon Bruno Monsaingeon (; born 5 December 1943) is a French filmmaker, writer, and violinist. He has made a number of documentary films about famous twentieth-century musicians, including Glenn Gould, Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, Piotr Anderszews ...

. A more extensive repertoire listing is as follows: * Arapov **Concerto for violin, piano and percussion **Etude-Scherzo **Sonatas No. 1, 2 & 5 *

The Art of Fugue ''The Art of Fugue'', or ''The Art of the Fugue'' (german: Die Kunst der Fuge, links=no), BWV 1080, is an incomplete musical work of unspecified instrumentation by Johann Sebastian Bach. Written in the last decade of his life, ''The Art of F ...

**English Suite No.2 **Fantasy & Fugue in A minor, BWV 904 **French Suite No.3 **

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'', BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also h ...

**Italian Concerto in F major, BWV 971 **Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 **Partitas Nos. 1, 2, 4 & 6 **Sonata "Hortus Musicus" by Johann Adam Reincken BWV965 **Toccata in E minor, BWV 914 **Well-Tempered Clavier Book I **Well-Tempered Clavier Book II :Bach-

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

: Chaconne for the left-hand BWV1004 :Bach-

Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

: "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesus Christ" BWV639 :Bach-Busoni: "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein" BWV734 :Bach- Siloti: Prelude in B minor *

**Sonatas No. 2, 3, 4, 7, 9–11, 13–17 & 27–32 **

Diabelli Variations The ''33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli'', Op. 120, commonly known as the ''Diabelli Variations'', is a set of variations for the piano written between 1819 and 1823 by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli. It for ...

**Concertos No. 1 & 5 **Rondos Op.51 & Op.129 ** Bagatelles Op.119 **Variations Op.35 "Eroica" *

**Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 **Sonata No.1 in C major, Op.1 **Sonata No.3 in F minor, Op.5 **4 Ballades Op.10 **Variations on a Theme by Handel Op. 24 **2 Rhapsodies Op.79 **7 Fantasies Op.116 **3 Intermezzi Op.117 **6 Klavierstücke Op.118 **4 Klavierstücke Op.119 *

Byrd Byrd commonly refers to: * William Byrd (c. 1540 – 1623), an English composer of the Renaissance * Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), an American naval officer and explorer Byrd or Byrds may also refer to: Other people * Byrd (surname), includin ...

**Pavan & Galliard MB52 **Alman MB11 **Prelude MB12 **Clarifica me Pater (II) MB48 **Qui Passe MB19 **March before the Battle MB93 **Battle MB94 **Galliard for Victory MB95 *

Carvalho Carvalho or de Carvalho (), meaning 'oak', is a Portuguese surname. The surname is most common in Portugal, Brazil, Galicia (although in Galicia it may be spelled 'Carbajal', ' Carvallo' or ' Carballo'), the former Portuguese African colonies ( ...

-Sokolov Toccata and Andante in G * Chopin ** Ballade No.4 in F minor, Op.52 **Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 **Etude Op.10 No.8 **Etudes Op.25 **Fantasie-Impromptu Op.66 **Fantasy Op.49 **Impromptus Op.29, Op.36 & Op.51 **Mazurkas Op.7 No.2, Op.17 No.4, Op.30 Nos. 1–4, Op.33 No.4, Op.50 Nos. 1–3, Op.63 Nos. 1–3, Op.67 No.2, Op.68 Nos. 2–4, Op.posth **Nocturnes Op.15 No.1, Op.27 No.1, Op.32 Nos. 1 & 2, Op.48 Nos. 1 & 2, Op.62 Nos. 1 & 2, Op.72, Op. posth **Polonaise-Fantasie Op.61 **Polonaises Op.26 No. 1 & 2, Op.40 No.2, Op.44, Op.53, Op. posth. **Preludes Op.28 **Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3 **Waltz No.17 Op.posth *

**Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou les Maillotins **Pièces de clavecin Book III Ordre XIII & Ordre XVIII *

**Des pas sur la neige (from Preludes, Book I, No.6) **Canope (from Preludes, Book II, No.10) *

Franck Franck can refer to: People * Franck (name) Other * Franck (company), Croatian coffee and snacks company * Franck (crater), Lunar crater named after James Franck See also

* Franc (disambiguation) * Franks * Frank (disambiguation) * Fran ...

** Prelude, Chorale & Fugue * Froberger **Toccata FbWV101 **Canzon FbWV301 **Fantasia FbWV201 **Ricercar FbWV411 **Capriccio FbWV508 **Partita FbWV610 *

Griboyedov Griboyedov may refer to: * Alexander Griboyedov (1795-1829), Russian playwright and diplomat * Griboyedov Canal, a canal in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg * Griboyedov, Armenia, a town in the Armavir Province of Armenia * Griboyedov Prize ...

**Waltz No.2 in E minor *

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...

**Piano Sonatas Hob XVI: 23, 32, 34, 36, 37 & 44 *

Komitas Soghomon Soghomonian, ordained and commonly known as Komitas, ( hy, Կոմիտաս; 22 October 1935) was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national sc ...

**Six Dances *

** La Campanella **Rhapsodie espagnole *

**Concertos Nos. 21, 23 & 24 **Prelude (Fantasie) and Fugue K.394 **Rondo K.511 **Sonatas K.280, K.310, K.331, K.332, K.457, & K.545 **Fantasy K.475 *

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

** Concerto No.1 **Sonatas Nos. 3, 7 & 8 * Rachmaninov **Concertos Nos. 2 & 3 **Preludes Op.2 No.3, Op.23, Op.32 No.5 & No.12 *

**Suite in D de Pièces de clavecin (1724) — in his repertory in 2012 **Suite in G/g de Pièces de clavecin (1726) — in his repertory before 2012 **"Le rappel des oiseaux" & "Tambourin" from Suite in E minor (1724) **"L’indiscrète" from the Pièces de clavecin *

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

**Gaspard de la nuit **Le Tombeau de Couperin **Oiseaux tristes (from Miroirs) **Prélude **Sonatine * Saint-Saëns ** Concerto No. 2 * Schoenberg **Two Pieces Op.33 *

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

**Allegretto D.915 **Hungarian Melody D.817 **Impromptus D.899 No. 1–4, D.935 No. 1-4 **Klavierstücke D.946 No. 1–3 **Moment Musicaux D.780 **Sonatas D.537, D.664, D.784, D.850, D.894, D.958, D.959 & D.960 **Waltz in G major, D.844 **Wanderer Fantasy *

** Carnaval Op.9 **Sonata No.1 in F-sharp minor, Op.11 **Sonata No.2 in G minor, Op.22 **Sonata No.3 in F minor, Op.14 **Kreisleriana Op.16 **Fantasie Op.17 **Arabesque Op.18 **Humoresque Op.20 **Bunte Blätter, Op. 99 **Noveletten Op.21 Nos. 2, 7 & 8 **Presto passionato Op.22a **4 Klavierstücke (Scherzo, Gigue, Romance and Fughette) Op.32 **Variations in E-flat on an Original Theme, WoO 24, "Geister Variations" *

**Caresse dansée Op.57 No.2 **Désir Op.57 No.1 **Énigme Op.52 No.2 **Etudes Op.2 No.1, Op.8, Op.42 Nos. 4 & 5 **Feuillet d’album Op.45 No.1 **Poème fantastique Op.45 No.2 **Poèmes Op.32 No.2, Op.69 Nos. 1 & 2 **Prelude & Nocturne for Left Hand Op.9 **Preludes Op.11 No.4, Op.33 Nos. 1–4, Op.45 No.3, Op.49 No.2 & Op.51 No.2 **Sonatas Nos. 1, 3, 4, 9 & 10 ** Vers la flamme Op.72 * Seixas-Sokolov Toccatas in D & C *

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

** Trois mouvements de Petrouchka *

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

** Concerto No.1

References

Citations

Sources

Books

Online

* *

External links

Grigory Sokolov General ManagementSite dedicated to Grigory Sokolov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolov, Grigory Russian classical pianists Male classical pianists Jewish classical pianists 1950 births Living people Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition 20th-century classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists