Grigory Sokolov - Live in Paris

Customer Reviews:

Beyond Incredible........2007-04-27

This is a DVD that will, quite simply, change the life of any Pianist and/or Musician that views it. Also, any fan of music and music-making in general cannot fail to feel the elemental force of Sokolov's grand and powerful interpretations.

Not only is the playing as wonderful and profound as one could possibly hope for but the sound and video is also top-notch.

Buy this. You will not be disappointed.

Phenomenal.......2006-11-16

This is one of the most beautiful and engaging DVD's I own. Grigory Sokolov is a true artist and will blow you away with this. Who else can play 3 Beethoven Sonata's in a row and make you beg for another. This is definitely a DVD to add to your collection.

Essential.......2006-08-28

Six or seven years ago returning to work in the evening a local radio station presented a live performance of Rach III, a work that is not high on my list of personal favorites. Yet the piano playing was of such an overwhelming quality that I listened to the conclusion of the second and the whole third movement while already parked in the garage. Hearing the name Sokolov after the conclusion rang a distant bell from my days in Europe, but to suddenly hear such an unsurpassed performance from a relatively little known pianist came as a complete surprise.

Searching the Amazon site a couple years later, I came across high praise for Sokolov's rendition of Bach's Art of the Fugue, but held of purchase, since I had not yet heard a pianist who could master both Rachmaninov and Bach equally well. This turned out to be a misconception, since Sokolov's version of Bach's musical testament is now my favorite among the complete rendition. While it does not yet have the spiritual depth of Gould's late piano renditions, Sokolov's version offers a bold Kandinsky-type counterpoint to the Canadian's Escherian version.

With the offspring currently living online in societies like myspace and youtube, I checked out this later site for piano clips (lots of Gould, Hamelin, Michelangeli, Horowitz, Pogorelich, Berezovsky, Libetta, Say, Argerich etc.) and came across one of the Couperin encores included on this DVD. This is the best Couperin I heard since Casadesus and Sokolov "does" more in a little over a minute, than most colleagues in a lifetime. Thus this DVD became a necessity.

Recorded live in 2002 in state of the art quality we get here 2 hours of Sokolov that represents the most significant piano playing since Gould's three Bach programs of the early 1980s. While Sokolov's approach to piano technique and disdain for the recording studio are the complete opposite of the Oracle of Toronto, he follows the dogma that the only reason to play/record a piece in the classical repertoire is to do it differently. While in Gould's case this "differently" could at times derail into "aberrantly" Sokolov's interpretations stay within a more accepted realm without the all too common "coloring within the lines".

The recital starts with a Beethoven threesome of the two Opus 14 Sonatas and the Opus 28 (14+14=?) Pastoral. These are performances of the highest order. They reveal in depth analysis, a reevaluation of the classical style and an enormous palette of colors and articulations. I have never understood why these works are not played more often. The second movement of 14.1 is Brahms' clearest precursor, and Sokolov like no other before shows the level of inventiveness that the composer displayed. Directly following on the heels of Opus 14 we get a supreme Pastoral, a work that Gould always considered as a string quartet that made its way to the piano. There are many great Pastorals, Kempff, Gilels, Gould, and Pollini, to just name a few, Sokolov's version more than holds its own against these versions.

Next, we get Komitas, with a set of works that I was not familiar with. In contrast to one fellow reviewer who puked all over these performances, I greatly enjoyed them. The works are highly evocative and reminded me of the more mellow and spiritual side of Bartok. The playing is beautiful and technically top notch.

Then it is time for the high point of the recital: a truly revelatory rendition of Prokofiev's 7th. Ever since Horowitz superb first recording this work has rightfully been included on a shot list of piano masterworks of the 20th century. Both the highly modernist first movement -according to Gould by far the best piano piece that the composer wrote- and the challenging precipitato "toccata" last movement have made this a perennial favorite in concert halls and competitions. As in Beethoven, many great alternatives are available: Horowitz, Richter, Bronfman, Berman and last but not least Pollini. This last recording is often, and with good reason, considered among the greatest piano recordings of all times. It defines brilliance. Yet, move over Maurizio, because here we have a new standard.

Ever since the establishment of the Sonata in classical times composers have taken up this form to combine multiple themes in more, or less sometimes less, fluent musical narratives that captured the listeners attention through a variety of moods and colors. While Mozart chose to keep things "simple" in his piano sonatas in contrast to some of his rondos or phantasies, Haydn in his later sonatas gladly opened the whole can of worms and provided his future colleagues with centuries of work. Through such luminaries like Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt and Berg many of the sonata allegro principles continued to provide fertile ground in finding a balance between unity and diversity. While Prokofiev's great Sonatas (6, 7, 8) are decidedly retro compared to the works that Boulez wrote in the same decade, they still show of the forms strengths.

When it comes to the interpreter's choice in approaching a performance that strikes a balance between unity and variety, we are currently in an era where the likes of Pollini, Brendel, and Perahia gladly start with unity and see later how much differentiation can be given to the different themes. What sets Sokolov apart, both in the Beethoven and especially in the Prokofiev is that his performances reveal an approach in which the work is first taken apart in its various themes and then put together again without too much of an "editing" role of the pianist. As a result this Prokofiev 7th may not give you the experience of ripping through all the turns in a Formula One ride, but instead grows into a Russian (piano) Tragedy. In despite of all its difficulties and Sokolov's razor sharp pianism, virtuosity is what seems to interest him least. Instead, the first movement's musical artillery attacks lead to a second movement that becomes of mournful trip through the ravaged battlefield where the "bell sounds" remind the listeners of Ravel's "Le Gibet". While the final movement normally becomes a life affirming piece that allows the pianist an opportunity to show of her or his skills, Sokolov chooses a continuation of the grim atmosphere of the centerpiece and does not leave you with the idea that "all's well again in Stalingrad".

Following this earth shattering performance is a set of encores including two Chopin Mazurkas, two pieces by Couperin and a Silotti/Bach piece. The latter I can still do without. Yet again, we get pianism of the highest order.
As the liner notes indicate, Sokolov is no fan of the recording process and has allowed his record company only to release a few of his many concert performances that they have taped over the years. He has apparently told them that they can do whatever they want when he is dead. Based on the glowing concert reviews that a little Googling can yield, this suggest that those of use around for the next 40 years will be in for a great treat. Let's just hope that Monsaingeon can lure the master into more of these incredible DVDs.

Some recordings are a must, this one is a necessity.

Bad joke on Komitas........2006-07-06

I am astonished with the lack of respect of Sokolov in the way he reads Komitas' scores. It's important to say that this is not what Komitas has written. There are no ritenuti in these pieces, for instance, and Sokolov makes lots of them, everywhere. He has not tried to know what was the character of each piece, and he has not respected Komitas' indications. A dance is a dance, and "Yerangi", for instance, sounds here like another thing.

Finest classical music DVD I know?.......2006-07-03

Although I love movies, I do not watch music videos all that often. Frankly, if this same concert were available on CD, I would buy it in addition to this DVD, because it is one of those rare concerts in which EVERY single piece is superbly played, not just technically, but musically as well. It contains, among other, the finest rendition of Beethoven's wonderful Pastoral Sonata since, well, Artur Schnabel!?
In all fairness, I should add that Bruno Monsaingeon is a master of his art, and that I do not know any live concert on video (and I have collected a few, despite my initial caveat) that catches "atmosphere" (let alone such technical aspects as exposure, lighting etc.) any better than this. So far I have never been disappointed by any of his productions, and of those, this must be one of his most technically polished (since most modern, I guess).
Sound quality (16-bit/48kHz) is very impressive, by the way.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

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