"Sokolov's fingers can do anything required of them: the clarity of articulation is total; the power of a crescendo seemingly infinite; the sheer strength at the forging point of mental observation and physical realisation breathtaking".
The London Times 2004

Considered by many today to be the world's greatest living pianist, Grigory Sokolov was awarded first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow in 1966 at the age of sixteen. He was championed at a young age by Emil Gilels and since his early teens, Sokolov has become a prominent figure on the Russian music scene and gained an almost mythical status amongst music-lovers and pianophiles throughout the world.

The enormous breadth of his repertoire and his huge, almost physical musical strength leave audiences in awe. Sokolov has an unlimited palette of colours, a spontaneous imagination and a magical control of line. His interpretations are poetic and highly individual, and his rhythmic freedom and elasticity of phrase are perhaps unequalled among pianists today. Using little pedal, and thus superior finger-work, he draws from the concert grand an immense variety of sounds. His playing betrays no influence from past masters, his style and approach are entirely his own, and are completely unique. Whatever Grigory Sokolov performs, be it a Bach Fantasia or a Chopin Mazurka, it suddenly sounds completely new. But all this magic has its earthly roots: Sokolov knows more about a Steinway than many piano technicians, and before he sits down to play a strange instrument, he first examines its inner mechanics, taking it to pieces. He is used to studying for many hours every day, and even on the day of a concert, practices on stage for hours, “getting to know” the piano.

Grigory Sokolov is a regular guest of the most prestigious concert halls and festivals of Europe. He has performed in London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Madrid, Salzburg, Munich, Rome and New York, and worked with many of the world’s most prominent conductors including Myung-Whun Chung, Neeme Järvi, Herbert Blomstedt, Valery Gergiev, Sakari Oramo, Trevor Pinnock, Andrew Litton, Vassilly Sinajskij, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Alexander Lazarev, John Storgards, Moshe Atzmon, Walter Weller, Evgeny Svetlanov. He has worked with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Münchner Philharmoniker, Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Philharmonia, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and Detroit Symphony. Sokolov has made a number of live recordings for the Melodya and Opus 111 labels. These include works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Schubert, Schumann, Scriabin, and Tchaikovsky, and most recently a critically acclaimed DVD of a 2002 Paris recital directed by Bruno Monsaingeon at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris.


Programme

W.A. MOZART Sonata in F major KV280 (189e) (1774)


Sonata in F major KV332 (300k) (1778)

Interval

F. CHOPIN 24 Préludes op. 28

Ticket Prices:

Section A: €35 / €28 Friends and Concessions (Membership card must be shown at the Strovolos Municipal Theatre)

Section B: €25 / €20 Friends and Concessions (Membership card must be shown at the Strovolos Municipal Theatre)

*Ticket vouchers must be exchanged with a numbered ticket prior to the recital at the Strovolos Municipal Theatre


Tickets can be purchased from:

Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Nicosia
Tel: 22313010
Mon.- Fri. 10:00 - 13:00 / 16:00 - 18:00
Weekends closed *unless there is a concert on that evening.