GRIGORY SOKOLOV, LIVE IN PARIS

A film by Bruno Monsaingeon

BEETHOVEN Sonata No.10, Op.14 No. 2; Sonata No. 15 Op. 28 'Pastorale'; Sonata No. 9 Op.14 No.1
VARDAPET Six Dances for Piano
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 Op.83
CHOPIN Mazurka in C sharp minor Op.63 No. 3; Mazurka in F minor Op.68 No. 4
F. COUPERIN Le Tic-Toc Choc or Les Maillotins; Soeur Monique
J. S. BACH Prelude in B minor (after, BWV855a)

Performance recorded on 4 November 2002.

The only DVD of Grigory Sokolov, an exceptional artist, famously reclusive, is once again available. In the 40 years since the 16-year-old Sokolov was awarded first prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1966, the world has been blessed with what one American critic recently called "a kind of pianism, musicianship and artistry one thought had vanished forever". Championed at a young age by Emil Gilels and a prominent figure on the Russian music scene since his early teens, Sokolov has gained an almost mythical status amongst music-lovers and pianophiles throughout the world. Sokolov has amazed everyone again and again with the enormous breadth of his repertoire and his huge, almost physical musical strength.

NTSC · 16:9, PCM stereo
Region Code: 0
Running time: 123 minutes

"This DVD is a wonderful opportunity to get to terms with a controversial 'cult' pianist at his best. His recordings from live concerts (many of them unofficial) are sought after; Grigory Sokolov dislikes studio recording. This Paris recital of 2002 is filmed sensitively and undistractingly by Bruno Monsaingeon, who provides a useful note about the project, and the sound quality is superb. Sokolov plays recitals in near darkness and he gave his three Beethoven sonatas straight through without pause for applause or reflection ...the overwhelming power of Sokolov's transcendent account of Prokofiev's great war sonata No.7 …the obsessive precipitato toccata finale is filmed in a single held shot throughout to preserve its cumulative effect, as with the unmoving camera in the classic films of Yasujiro Ozu. The encores restore charm and elegance with pieces by Couperin, Chopin and Bach - the last in a Siloti arrangement. This is a very important DVD which deserves a place in every piano enthusiast's collection. It is a privilege to join the Parisian audience at Theatre des Champs-Elysées or, as it were, to bring Sokolov into one's own living room to savour his interpretations at leisure." PGW, Musical Pointers.com

"Sokolov, although a well-kept secret, is for many the greatest pianist alive today. Youthful celebrities with fast fingers, designer gear and slick photos pall beside such gigantic artistry, for Sokolov is a pianistic Dostoyevsky, his music-making vast in scope, visionary and revelatory, squeezing out every last drop of meaning." Jessica Duchen, International Piano Sept/Oct 2006

"There can be few virtuosi with fingers to touch his" The Sunday Times