Grigory Sokolov: biography, family, interesting facts, concerts and photos

Pianist Grigory Sokolov is a famous musician. Experts unanimously say that his career is amazing. Sokolov ascended to the musical Olympus without "promotion", without excitement, without "market relations." The incredibly talented pianist has become famous throughout the world. Sokolov is one of the most outstanding pianists of our time.

Grigory Sokolov pianist

Biography

Grigory Sokolov studied piano at the age of five. Already at seven he was accepted to the music school at the Leningrad Conservatory. He was taught by L.I. Zelikhman. Then Sokolov entered the conservatory, at which he studied, and in 1973 graduated from it. Emil Gigels called him a favorite student. Two years after graduating from the conservatory, Sokolov gets a teacherā€™s place in it. In 1986, he became a professor and taught until 1990, when he left Russia and moved to Verona (Italy), where he lives to this day.

Grigory Sokolov gave his first solo concert at the age of twelve, at the age of sixteen he became the winner of the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition and from then on began touring around the world, but preferred performing in Europe. In the 2000s, Grigory Sokolov refused to perform with orchestras, since then he has only performed with a solo program.

concert of grigory sokolov

Awards

The pianist was twice awarded the Franco Abbiati Prize (in 2003 and 2004).

In 2008, Sokolov was awarded the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Prize, an eminent Italian pianist who was named one of the most outstanding performers of classical piano music in the twentieth century.

In 2009, Sokolov became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

Prize withdrawal

In 2015, Grigory Sokolov refused to accept the prestigious Cremona Music Award 2015 due to the fact that he did not want to "be on the same line" with British musicologist Norman Lebrecht. He explained the refusal of the prize by the fact that, in accordance with his ideas about decency, it would be indecent to be on the same list of people awarded with this person. Many publications have confirmed the fact of conflict, and the fact of refusal of the award. The organizers of the award did not discuss the personal relationship of the pianist and musicologist, however, they expressed regret over the musicianā€™s refusal of the award, because earlier his managers assured that everything would be in order. Sokolov announced his refusal just a few days before the ceremony. Recall that Lebrecht was awarded the same prize a year earlier.

concerts of the pianist Grigory Sokolov

Tour

Most of the solo concerts of Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov take place in the countries of the European Union. From Italy, where he has lived for almost thirty years, he annually comes to Russia with concerts. For example, in 2017 and 2018, he performed in St. Petersburg. In Moscow, the pianist never performs, explaining this with unpleasant memories of the difficult atmosphere that surrounded him after the first victory in the prestigious competition (we are talking about the competition named after P.I. Tchaikovsky when the musician was only sixteen years old). The metropolitan audience accepted this victory without much enthusiasm, because no one considered this young, practically unknown musician until recently as a winner. Even he. Since then, Grigory Lipmanovich has never participated in any competitions, and says that this is not necessary for the musician.

About the competition to them. P.I. Tchaikovsky

In the first round, some experts did not hide the annoyance: why was it necessary to include such a young musician, a student in the ninth grade, among the contestants? He is only sixteen! At the second stage of the musicians' competition, the American Dichter was called the probable winner, and the names of his compatriots: Auer and Dick, sounded. Some experts believed that the Frenchman Tiollier was worthy of victory, the names of A. Slobodyanik and N. Petrov sounded among Soviet pianists, and they either did not mention Grigory Sokolov at all, or spoke only briefly and casually. However, after the third round, it was he who was declared the winner, and the victory was sole, he did not share his award with anyone. Young Sokolov himself went to the contest simply to "try his hand" and did not expect to win.

The metropolitan audience received the news without much enthusiasm. Many wondered if the jury's decision was fair. Time has ā€œsorted it outā€, we see that the decision of the judges was impartial and correct, because Grigory Sokolov without any advertising became one of the most famous pianists of our time.

biography of falcon grigory

Industriousness

They say that Grigory Lipmanovich from childhood was notable for his rare industriousness. In the classroom, he was stubborn and persistent from school, daily for several hours practicing the instrument, and this became for him a rule that was never violated. Grigory Sokolov to this day continues to work hard. In one interview, he was asked how many hours a day he devotes to working on his technique. The great pianist replied that when musicians answer such questions, their answers, in his opinion, look rather artificial. He does not understand how this norm can be calculated, which will at least partially correctly reflect the state of things. Sokolov says that it is naive to believe that a musician works only when he is behind an instrument, because a real musician is always busy with this business, at any moment.

However, if you approach the issue more formally, Grigory Sokolov plays at least six hours a day, and believes that the more classes, the better.

falcons grigory children

"The law of perfection"

At twelve, Sokolov gave his first clavirabend. The audience was amazed at how the sixth grader carefully processed the material. His game was distinguished by such technical completeness, which can be achieved only through long and painstaking work. Concerting and performing music, Sokolov always honored the "law of perfection" in performance (as one of the Petersburg reviewers put it). The pianist worked on the work until he achieved strict adherence to this "law" both in rehearsal and on stage.

Another rule of his is the sustainability of creative results. During competitions or intense concert activity, the musician gets tired both morally and physically, and this, of course, affects the results. Both the public and the jury will note this. Grigory Sokolov has an extremely stable result. Another P. Serebryakov, who was part of the jury of the competition to them. P. Tchaikovsky, noted that only Sokolov passed all stages of the music competition "lossless".

Personality traits

Perhaps Sokolov owes this quality to the mental poise given to him by nature. As a performer, he is a strong and whole nature, his inner world is ordered and not split. Sokolovā€™s character is also even, calm, this is manifested both in the manner of behavior, and in communication with people, and, of course, in creative activity. Even in the most difficult and crucial moments, if one can judge this from the outside, self-control and endurance do not change. Behind the instrument, Sokolov is calm, unhurried and self-confident. Observing this, the question arises: is this person familiar with that chilling excitement that turns into a pain the stay on stage for many other musicians? Once he was really asked about this. At first, Sokolov replied that he was usually worried before performances, and then, after thinking a little, said that he was not just worried, but very worried. However, this feeling is present exactly until the moment when he sits down at the instrument and begins to play. After this, the excitement quietly disappears, instead of him there is a passion for the creative process and a businesslike focus. He is immersed in work. It must be precisely this quality that a person born for open speaking and communicating with the public should possess.

About creativity

From a young pianist who did not expect his own victory, Sokolov, over time, turned into a master of his craft. In his school years, he attracted attention with a beautiful, polished and smooth game, and with age he became one of the artists whose game is the most informative and creatively interesting. The interpretations of Grigory Lipmanovich are always very serious, he processes the work and produces a result that makes an incredible impression on the audience. An interesting fact is that Sokolov never records in studios and generally does not like recordings. He believes that only a live game can truly "offend" the listener. All discs that are on sale contain exclusively concert recordings of Grigory Sokolov.

However, a serious attitude to the profession can be judged simply from the selection of material. In programs, he often includes Bach's Art of the Fugue cycle, Schubert's Sonata in B Flat Major, and Beethovenā€™s Twenty-Ninth Sonata. However, the point is not so much what Sokolov plays, but how he plays. His approach to the interpretation of the work and his attitude to the music performed.

Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov

Personal life

Nothing is known about Grigory Sokolovā€™s personal life and family. He never mentions this in an interview, perhaps because he wants to keep this part of his life secret from the masses. Nothing is known about Grigory Sokolovā€™s children either, but one thing is certain: the film ā€œConversation, which wasnā€™tā€ used newsreels in which his wife, Inna Sokolova, read poetry of her own composition. It is believed that Inna passed away a few years ago, but officially this information has not been confirmed anywhere.

falcons grigory family

Favorite music

Sokolov says that he has no favorite styles, authors, and works. He loves everything that can be included in the list of good music, and he wants to play all this. Judging by Sokolovā€™s repertoire, heā€™s not disingenuous: the musicianā€™s program includes works from different times, from the 18th century to the middle of the 20th. At the same time, they are evenly distributed in the repertoire, without the dominance of any style, name or musical direction. However, there are composers whose works Sokolov plays more eagerly. These are Bach, Schubert and Beethoven. Chopin, Ravel and Scriabin, the only symbolist composer, as well as Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, can be placed in this series. However, unlike many musicians who begin to play the ā€œlearned repertoireā€ with age, Sokolov every time tries to introduce something new in his performances, so it is safe to say that the master will not stand still. Therefore, at the concerts of the pianist Grigory Sokolov, the number of spectators will not decrease. This is evidenced by the critic L. Gakkel, who noted how rapidly the repertoire of this musician is growing.


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