Writing yet again about Grigory Sokolov was not in my plans at all, but having listened again to his recording on Opus 111 (OPS 30-83) of the Chopin Piano Sonata Number 2, opus 35 (from a live concert recording on 13 June, 1985) and the Etudes open 24 numbers 1 through 12 (also from a concert recording on 10 November 1992) I cannot help but comment on his playing. The Sonata is thoughtfully played. It is not the most passionately conceived on but it is certainly the most logically thought out performance. While Martha Argerich’s performance of this work is arguably more passionate, there is no reason to prefer one over the other. The novice collector could not go wrong in choosing either one and the more experienced collector should have both!
However, the tour de force on this recording are the 12 Etudes from opus 25. Although these were written at the same time, they were not conceived as a as a single work. They are technical studies, albeit wonderfully musical ones. Yet Sokolov manages to bring a singularity of conception to them which runs in a continuous thread from the first to the last. I is quite remarkable playing and well worth spending the money to own this recording.
How wonderful to have actual notes in the jacket that make sense. Although it is obvious that they are rather clumsily translated from another language, they do make some salient points about the music and explain the context in which they were written.
Pristine, lucid and clear are the words that come to mind while listening to Grigory Sokolov’s performaces on his release on OPUS 111 40-9104 CD. The Scriabin third Sonata is a personal favorite and Sokolov brings it off with his usual flair and conviction.
However, it is Sergei Prokoviev 8th Sonata that impresses me most. I have always found the last two Prokofiev Sonatas difficult to understand. There are quitea number of recordings of this work but none have ever given me the impression that the pianist understands the work.
Sokolov, on the other hand, convinces me that the work as something to say. The music is all familiar to me but Sokolov makes it speak with a new clarity. This is alive performance a well, though you would never know it.The audience is completel silent.I didn’t hear one cough or any other audience noise untiil the applause at the end. This tells me that this audience was completely captivated by Sokolov’s playing.
While writing this I’ve listened to it twice over and the playing has left me smilng. Sokolov captures the wit and dry humour in Prokoviev’s writing perfectly.
I think I’ve discovered the other half of this recording! This one is well worth buying!
Reminicing about the past is one of humankind’s favourite pass-times. We know that our recollection of past traumatic events is notoriously inacurate. But what of our recal abilities where non-trauma causing events are concerned. As it happens it has meant enough to researchers to study this and give us an answer. The news is good — in general, our recall of past events is accurate within the bounds of our own point of view. That is to say we remember events accurately as we saw them. Of course others may have seen the events from a different vantage point and therein lies any discrepencies.
However, it still does some good to verify that our memories are that accurate and for those who do not have memories of those events, the historicial record provided by video, audio and film recordings are invaluable. This who digression is by way of introducing for the first time (for some — most maybe) a pianist who died not that long ago. The legendary Sviatoslav Richter. His technique was supposed to be unassalable. I now have my own evidence that these reports were indeed acurrate and if anything understated.
Take for instance Ukranian born pianist Sviatoslav Richter who’s technique was legendary, but who’s concert appearance became less and less frequent. We should not forget the old Iron Curtain’s roll in denying him his audience in the West. Long after he was well known in the Soviet Union, he was completely unheard of here in Northt America. This is what we might have seen had we had the opportunity:
There isn’t a note out of place in this Chopin Etude. Any young pianist might sell his soul for technique like this. But as I have pointed out in a previous post reviewing a live recording of the Schubert Piano Sonata D.960 in B flat major:
http://recordjackethistorian.blogspot.com/2006/03/schuberts-last-piano-sonata-sviatoslav.html
Richter lives dangerously even at slow tempos, but even without the bravura of the Chopin Revolutionary Etude, his musicality still shines.
Who would have thought that the popular medium of choice in the mind of the general populace would allow the best of our culture to shine so billiantly so fast! I never expected this in a million years.
I knew this was possible, but the uexecpected part of it is that the way in which the general public has demanded the right to produce and publish what they want when they want. They didn’t ask, they took.
Last post I wrote about past Tchaikovsky competition winners and who should appear on the You Tube? Yes, Grigory Sokolov himslef.
Yes, what ever happens to those young power house pianists who win major competitions? The Tchaikovsky Competition, the old one, now long gone, for instance. Some winners are remembered long after beause they have illustrious careers and contracts with major reording companies. Vladimir Ashkenazy is a good example. Lately, for at least the past 2 decades, however he has been conducting more and more. He used to be one of my favourite pianists. I saw him live playing a very convincing performace of the Emperor Concerto just a year or so after he won that competition. However, the last recital I heard him play was far from memorable except for its pedestrian qualities and my resolve never to pay to hear him again.
Now, lets talk about another Tchaikovsky competition winner, one Grigory Sokolov. I had all but forgotten about him until I was solicited by a sales person for an independent recording distributor when I was buying for a major local music store chain. The “new” label (new to me, and new to Canada at that time) was Opus 111. Amongst the list of recordings were several by Sokolov and I took the opportunity to purchase several of them. These recordings prompted me to buy tickets for a recital by him here in Vancouver.
This 1966 Tchaikovsky competition winner did not disapoint! His playing was of the highest standard. interpertively honest in every respect. He also managed to deal with unexpected problems without so much as a blink of an eye.
During the first half of the concert it became evident that there was a problem with one of the high A flats on the instrument he was playing. There was a persistant and annoying buzz in it. Unfortunately, the Schubert work he was performing had persistant iterations of this note. Lesser pianists would have stumbled or at least shown some loss of composure. Not Mr. Sokolov, he continued as if nothing had happened. this is the way things should be when something goes wrong. Its why we pay the price for the tickets. At the interval, the technician fixed the problem and the rest of the program was played without problems.
I stumbled on his recording of the Scriabin Piano Sonata number three in f sharp minor. This is one of his earlier works before he went into his truly strange period. It is one of my favorite works and Grigory Sokolov plays it with aplomb. It is definitely wroth listening to. His performance of the Prokofiev Piano Sonata Number Eight is equally convincing. He ends his recording with the Rachmaninov Prelude in D major opus 23 number 4. This is not one of the better known preludes, but it should be. It is as lyrically exquisite as anyihing Rachmaninoff ever wrote. You can find this recording on Opus 111 40-9104
Cheers,
MaXqUE,
a.k.a. the record jacket historian
