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

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Pianist Grigory Sokolov is a renowned musician. Experts unanimously say that his creative path is amazing. Sokolov ascended the musical Olympus without "promotion", without excitement, without "market relations". The incredibly talented pianist became famous all over the world. Sokolov is one of the most outstanding pianists of our time.

Biography

Grigory Sokolov studied piano from the age of five. Already at seven he was admitted to a music school at the Leningrad Conservatory. He was taught by L. I. Zelikhman. Then Sokolov enters the conservatory, where he studied, and in 1973 he graduated from it. Emil Gigels called him his favorite student. Two years after graduating from the conservatory, Sokolov received a teaching position at the same. 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.

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

Awards

Pianist 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 has been 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.

Rejection of bonus

In 2015, Grigory Sokolov refused to accept the prestigious Cremona Music Award 2015 because he did not want to be "in the same row" with the British musicologist Norman Lebrecht. He explained the refusal of the award by the fact that, according to his ideas of decency, it would be indecent to be on the same list of those who were awarded with this person. Many publications confirmed both the fact of the conflict and the fact of the refusal of the award. The organizers of the award did not discuss the personal relationship between the pianist and the musicologist, but expressed regret over the musician'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 award ceremony. Recall that Lebrecht was awardedthe same award a year earlier.

Tours

Most of the solo concerts of Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov are held in the EU countries. From Italy, where he has been living 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 by unpleasant memories of the difficult atmosphere that surrounded him after the first victory in a prestigious competition (we are talking about the P. I. Tchaikovsky competition, when the musician was only sixteen years old). The metropolitan public accepted this victory without much enthusiasm, because this young, practically unknown musician, until the last, no one considered as a winner. Even himself. Since then, Grigory Lipmanovich has never participated in any competitions, and says that this is not necessary for a musician.

About the competition. P. I. Tchaikovsky

In the first round, some experts did not hide their annoyance: why include such a young musician, a ninth grade student, among the contestants? He's only sixteen! At the second stage of the competition of musicians, the American Dichter was named the likely winner, and the names of his compatriots: Auer and Dick were also mentioned. Some experts believed that the Frenchman Thiolier deserved the victory, among the Soviet pianists the names of A. Slobodyanik and N. Petrov were heard, and Grigory Sokolov was either not mentioned at all, or only briefly and in passing. However, after the third round, it was he who was declared the winner, andthe victory was one-man, he did not share his reward with anyone. The young Sokolov himself went to the competition just to "try his hand" and did not count on winning.

The metropolitan public accepted this news without much enthusiasm. Many wondered if the jury's decision was fair? Time "sorted things out", we see that the decision of the judges was unbiased and correct, because Grigory Sokolov, without any advertising, became one of the most famous pianists of our time.

Hard work

They say that Grigory Lipmanovich from childhood was distinguished by a rare industriousness. In his studies, he was stubborn and persistent from the school bench, every day he practiced the instrument for several hours, and this became a rule for him that was never violated. Grigory Sokolov continues to work hard to this day. 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 it is possible to calculate this norm, which will at least partly correctly reflect the state of affairs. Sokolov says that it is naive to believe that a musician works only when he is at the instrument, because a real musician is always busy with this business, at any moment.

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

The Law of Perfection

At the age of twelve, Sokolov gave his first clavierabend. The audience was amazed at how carefully the sixth grader processed the material. His playing was distinguished by such technical completeness, which can only be achieved through long and painstaking work. When giving concerts and performing music, Sokolov always honored the "law of refinement" in performance (as one of the St. Petersburg reviewers put it). The pianist worked on the piece until he achieved strict observance of this "law" both in the rehearsal room and on the stage.

Another of his rules is the sustainability of creative results. During competitions or intense concert activities, the musician gets tired both mentally and physically, and this, of course, affects the results. Both the public and the jury will note this. Grigory Sokolov has an exceptionally stable result. Another P. Serebryakov, who was a member of the jury of the competition. P. I. Tchaikovsky, noted that only Sokolov passed all stages of the musical competition "without loss".

Personality Qualities

Perhaps Sokolov owes this quality to his spiritual balance, which is given to him by nature. As a performer, he is a strong and whole nature, his inner world is ordered and not split. Sokolov's character is also even, calm, this is manifested in the manner of behavior, and in communicating with people, and, of course, in creative activity. Even in the most difficult and crucial moments, if one can judge this from the outside, his self-control and endurance do not change him. Perinstrument Sokolov is calm, unhurried and self-confident. Watching this, the question arises: is this person familiar with the chilling excitement that makes being on stage almost a torment for many other musicians? Once he was actually asked about it. At first, Sokolov replied that he was usually worried before performances, and then, after thinking a little, he said that he was not just worried, but very worried. However, this feeling is present exactly until the moment he sits down at the instrument and begins to play. After that, the excitement imperceptibly disappears, instead of it there is a passion for the creative process and businesslike concentration. He plunges into work. This must be the quality that a person born for open performances and communication with the public should have.

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 meaningful and creatively interesting. Interpretations of Grigory Lipmanovich are always very serious, he reworks the work and produces a result that makes an incredible impression on the listeners. An interesting fact is that Sokolov never records in studios and generally does not like records. He believes that only a live game can truly "touch" the listener. All discs available for sale contain exclusively live recordings by Grigory Sokolov.

However, about a serious attitude to the professioncan be judged simply from the selection of material. His programs often include Bach's Art of Fugue, Schubert's sonata in B flat major, and Beethoven's Twenty-ninth Sonata. However, the meaning is not so much in what exactly Sokolov plays, but in how he plays. His approach to the interpretation of the work and attitude to the music performed.

Private life

Nothing is known about Grigory Sokolov's personal life and family. He never mentions it in interviews, perhaps because he wants to keep this part of his life a secret from the masses. Nothing is known about whether Grigory Sokolov has children either, but one thing is for sure: in the film "The Conversation That Wasn't", a newsreel was used in which his wife, Inna Sokolova, read poems of her own composition. There is an opinion that Inna died several years ago, but this information has not been officially confirmed anywhere.

Favorite music

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