Valery Sokolov is one of the most talented violinists in the world, who received recognition thanks to his perfect technique of playing the instrument. During his performances at the best concert venues in the world, he performs the most complex works written for the violin repertoire. In Ukraine, Valery holds numerous creative meetings, charity concerts. The man is the organizer of a music festival in Kharkov.
Some facts from the biography of the musician
Sokolov Valery Viktorovich was born in Kharkov in September 1986. The boy’s father and mother had nothing to do with music. His parent led the Institute of Geology. Mom worked at the geological faculty of Kharkov State University. Despite this, everyone in the family loved music and often attended the Philharmonic.
According to Valery Sokolov, the violinist’s biography began when his mother took him to a ballet and music school at the age of five. He did not have a relationship with dancing. Therefore, he remained at music school No. 9 with a teacher, Natalya Yurevna Kravetskaya. There was a shortage in the class that year. Therefore, the teacher suggested putting the boy on the violin. In the class with N. Kravetskaya, the future musician studied from 1991 to 1995, and then moved to a specialized music school and continued his studies under the guidance of Sergey Evdokimov.
The first music competition in Spain
In 1999, when the guy turned 12 years old, the teacher and parents realized that he needed to develop further. Therefore, Valery Sokolov went with his mother to Spain for the competition of young performers Pablo Sarasate, where he became the youngest participant in the event. The chairman of the panel of judges was Vladimir Spivakov. After the Ukrainian violinist received a special prize, an authoritative jury invited Valery and mother and recommended that they continue their studies abroad.
Since the 12-year-old boy could not be accepted into the conservatory, the famous violinist Grigory Zhislin advised to turn to a wonderful teacher Natalya Boyarskaya. She taught in England at the famous Yehudi Menuhin school. Valery Sokolov played the entrance exam. And in January 2001 I received a letter informing him that he could start classes in the next semester.
Studying in Europe
After completing the violin courses, Valery continued his studies at London's Royal College of Music. His class was led by Felix Andrievsky. The young man also studied at the graduate school of the Higher School of Music in Frankfurt am Main. Here, Anna Chumachenko became his teacher. After that, the gifted violinist graduated from the graduate school of the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied under the direction of Boris Kushnir.
While studying at King's College Valery Sokolov, whose biography is filled with vivid musical events, participated in the International Competition. An event dedicated to J. Enescu was held in Bucharest in 2005. As a result of the speech, Sokolov received the Grand Prix. In addition, he was awarded two special prizes for the best performance of Enescu's musical works. After this competition, he began active musical activity.
Musical career violinist
Valery receives invitations to perform with famous musical ensembles. Among them were the philharmonic orchestras of France, London, Birmingham, Stockholm, Tokyo and several other groups. The musician collaborated with famous conductors: Vladimir Ashkenazi, Douglas Boyd, Juraj Valchuga, Susanna Mialka, Michel Tabachnik and others.
Ukrainian violinist gives solo concerts in the most famous concert halls in Europe, participates in many international festivals, plays in chamber orchestras with musicians: Leonid Gorokhov, Gary Hoffman, Denis Matsuev and others. He also collaborates with many famous pianists of the world: Ilya Rashkovsky, Svetlana Kosenko, Peter Andrzhevsky.
In 2007, he signed a contract with record company EMI / Virgin Classics, resulting in 3 CDs with a recording of his performance by the works of J. Enescu, Bartok and Tchaikovsky. A DVD was also released. It recorded Valery's performance of a concert for the violin of Sibelius.
Meeting with French director Bruno Mosenjon
In 2003, the famous French violinist and director Bruno Monsenjon visited the Menukhin School in London. He was invited to conduct a violin master class. After the performance, the guys asked a lot of questions, but Valery Sokolov was the most sociable (Ukraine). He asked Bruno for a personal meeting, during which he handed him his video, made at 13 years old. The French director said that he had heard an amazing performance of Aram Khachaturian’s works by a young violinist.
After that, Bruno invited Valery to visit him for a week. As a result of close communication, he got the idea to create a documentary about a young musician. At first, Sokolov refused. He believed that it was too early for him to star in such a movie. But the director insisted. Soon there were producers. Already in 2004, Bruno Monsenjon's film “Violin in the shower” appeared.
Violin stradivarius
In 2007, the virtuoso violinist fell into the hands of an old violin made by the great Antonio Stradivarius. According to Valery, he ran his bow along the strings several times and set the instrument aside. He believed that he had not reached the required level of skill. The guy improved his technique, playing the instruments of Yehudi Menuhin for several years. And only after that he was able to touch the famous violin made in 1703.
Currently, it belongs to a private person from France. He passes it to famous musicians for several years, so that people can appreciate the beauty of the sound of the instrument. Now Valery Sokolov plays this violin. The violinist believes that working with her is very difficult, because she has a unique timbre and great potential, which has not yet been revealed.
Kharkov music evenings
Currently, the violinist lives in Europe, but considers Ukraine his homeland and is not going to change his citizenship. He tours a lot around the world, but often comes to Kharkov: his parents live here, there are many friends left. On his initiative, in 2010-2011, in the hometown of Valeria, the International Chamber Music Festivals "Musical Evenings" were held. Thanks to the authority of the violinist, in 2011, 23 famous musicians from the European Union, North America and Argentina participated in the festival, as well as a chamber orchestra from Kiev, the main conductor of which is Vladimir Sirenko.
Events organized by Valery were held on the principle of festivals held in Europe. Concerts were held in the halls of the Kharkov Philharmonic. Festival participants held master classes for music school students, and Bruno Mosenjon brought films about famous musicians David Oistrakh, Svyatoslav Richter and young performers Valery Sokolov, Petra Andershevsky and many others.
Concert in Dnepropetrovsk
In Ukraine, a musician often gives charity concerts. One of these performances took place at the end of December 2014 in Dnepropetrovsk. It took place in the Menorah Concert Hall. It was attended by one and a half thousand people, but there were much more people who wanted to get there. The Stradivarius violin, on which the musician played, was put on public display an hour before the concert. The musician himself called the event unique, because usually during the performance one piece of music is played, and in the hall of the Menorah there were three creations from different eras:
- A concert for the violin by V.A. Mozart, performed together with the orchestra, which is considered the best music of the 18th century.
- Works by I. Brahms, one of the best composers of the 19th century, the era of romanticism.
- Concert for violin and orchestra of one of the greatest composers of the XX century, Dmitry Shostakovich.
The live broadcast of the event was on the Internet. In Dnepropetrovsk, the musician met with the Jewish community in the synagogue, and also held a concert in the hospital. Valery Sokolov emphasizes that patriotism must be confirmed not by words, but by deeds. And the wonderful music performed by the musician on the Stradivarius violin can heal souls.