1979 LP text:
Soviet piano youth often make their mark starting from their school days, quickly achieving skill and technical brilliance. The question is whether this "maturation" of the musician is limited to honing professional mastery or whether the musician becomes an artist and thinker capable of delving into the depths of artistic works.
Grigory Sokolov gave his first solo recital at twelve, became a laureate of the All-Russian and All-Union competitions at fifteen, and won the Third International Tchaikovsky Competition at sixteen. The youngest participant in the competition, he captivated everyone with his youthful temperament, virtuosity, and beautiful piano sound.
Continuous tours (Italy, Holland, USA, Finland, Japan, Canada) and the atmosphere of celebratory acclaim did not dull the artistic awareness of the young musician, nor his critical acumen and high standards. One can confidently say that Sokolov brilliantly passed the "test of fame," avoiding the path of easy success. In 1968, he graduated with honors from school, later completing the Leningrad Conservatory and postgraduate studies.
What distinguishes the pianist's individuality today? Harmony, clarity of worldview, youthful fervor, and immediacy, which won over listeners and critics at the competition, have remained. However, the pianist's boundaries continue to expand. The willpower and activity of creative thinking define the main traits of Sokolov's artistic nature. These traits permeate his interpretations of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff's concertos, Chopin and Schubert's sonatas, and works by Schumann, Prokofiev, and Scriabin. The pianist's repertoire continually expands, encompassing pieces of various styles, eras, and artistic directions.
Beethoven is represented in the pianist's repertoire by the First and Fifth piano concertos and many sonatas. Among them are the First, Sixth, Seventh, Fifteenth, and Eighteenth. Sokolov frequently performs the last five sonatas. In each of them, he consistently reveals traits characteristic of Beethoven's late works: intense depth of thought, free improvisational form, and heightened psychological insight. Beethoven's compositions from his late period attract Sokolov with their anticipation of romantic art and closeness to polyphony and counterpoint (the fugue in the final movement of Sonata No. 28, the final fugues of Sonatas No. 29 and 31, and the polyphonic "weavings" in the first movement and Arietta of Sonata No. 32).
Sonata No. 31, Op. 110 vividly embodies the features of Beethoven's "dramaturgy." The clash of contrasting elements: courage and sorrow, willful intensity and reconciliation, melancholy, reflection, and bright lyricism – these are the musical images of this work. It is difficult to determine which part of the sonata: the sublime, dreamy first, the energetic second, or the finale, where lyrical fragments alternate with the "advancing" fugue, is most successful for the performer. Sokolov's interpretation is distinguished, above all, by a sense of harmonic balance.
Logical structure, precise correlation of details and the whole, and the main and secondary elements help the interpreter convincingly reveal the main idea of the work: through struggle and doubts, uncertainty and suffering, to a bright perception of life, celebrating its beauty and harmony.
Bach's works naturally fit into the sphere of the musician's artistic preferences. Sokolov became acquainted with and fell in love with Bach's music early on. Already in the third grade, he learned and performed one of the English Suites. Bach's compositions were also included in the program of his first solo concert, and the reviewer noted the debutant's fine sense of style, the feeling for the intonational nature of the music performed, and mastery of the piano "orchestration." Currently, the pianist's repertoire includes the Italian Concerto, English and French Suites, Preludes and Fugues from "The Well-Tempered Clavier," the F minor Piano Concerto, Brahms' transcription of the Chaconne, and eleven fugues from "The Art of Fugue."
"The Art of Fugue" is the pinnacle of the composer's polyphonic writing. "You don't know whether to be more amazed by the multitude of combinations invented by this musical genius or by the naturalness and ease with which the voices move," wrote A. Schweitzer. The "Art of Fugue" cycle, Bach's spiritual testament, remained unfinished. A note made on the margins of the fourteenth fugue's manuscript by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach states: "While working on this fugue, after the introduction of the B-A-C-H theme, the composer died." The musical text of the piece is written on four lines in the form of a score, but the composer left no indications regarding the instrument for which the work was intended. This work by Bach has been performed on the organ, harpsichord, piano, and in various arrangements for orchestra and string quartet.
Grigory Sokolov's interpretation of this unique creation is free from stylizations and imitations of the sound of ancient instruments. The modernity of the artist's performance style is especially evident in his interpretation of the music of the great German polyphonist. Intellectualism in his art closely interacts with emotionality, and expressing his attitude to the imagery of the music he interprets aligns with the general stylistic patterns of its performance. Not striving to approximate the "original" sound of pieces written in harpsichord and organ styles, the pianist uses the rich possibilities of the modern piano. At the same time, the expressive means he chooses for his performance correspond to the spirit of Bach's era. A delicate sound palette, flexible and diverse rhythmic nuances, based on a solid metric foundation, warmth, and restrained passion of intonations allow for a truthful and inspired conveyance of the genius's creations, without missing or losing any of the precious details of Bach's writing. The exclamation of the Norwegian correspondent from the "Gjønserg Blad" newspaper after the Soviet pianist's performance of the fugues is justified and understandable: "How did Bach manage to write such perfect piano music? After all, in his time, instruments were nothing like those we have today." The interpretation of Bach's compositions is a bright page in Sokolov's performing artistry.
Natalia Rastopchina
