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Grigory Sokolov May 31, 2007 Sokolov
Plays Conservatorio G. Verdi (He Won) Opera Chic is back tonight from a late night passed at
Conservatorio G. Verdi where she basked in the glory of Grigory Sokolov's
piano recital in the white belly of that huge auditorium on via
Conservatorio. The program consisted of Franz Schubert's Sonata in C minor D
958 which was played technically beyond-perfect, and suffused with tenderness
and a wide range of color. The usual thirty-two minute composition (with four
movements) took much longer under the careful caress of Sokolov, clocking-in
at around forty. His pedal work is outstanding...his legato, his staccato,
his transpositions...everything. He is appassionato in the fullest sense, and
this performance quickly erased all prior memories of Barenboim’s momentous
(but hey, kinda sloppy and heavy-handed) recital two nights ago at La Scala. The second half of the program was, um, okay...a selection
of Aleksandr Nikolaevich Skrjabin works with only a few standouts (not at the
fault of the superb Sokolov, but my own incapacity to really get into
Skrjabin). One "mistake" (we use this ironically) of Sokolov was
launching directly into the astounding, trompe l'oeil splendor of "Opus
9 Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand", which demonstrated so much of
his endless talent and received so much applause, that the following four
program pieces sent the entire audience into proper applause etiquette confusion,
with half the auditorium tepidly applauding, and the other half shushing them
during each subsequent piece. jokes on us all. Again, his presentation of the
Skrjabin work for the left hand was insane, his right hand hanging idly at
his side. His phrasing and mastery of mixing legato with brighter staccato
and spirito was beyond words. He used the voice of his left hand to
mind-bogglingly sound like two. The Sonata No. 3 Opus 23 was also a standout,
leaving the remaining works (Due Poemi Opus 69, Sonata No. 10 Opus 70, and
Vers la flamme Opus 72) a bit of a chore (OC wanted the delicious encore
already). Six bis were given, starting with a sweet andante
Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, and then including
another Chopin waltz, Liszt, Beethoven, Brahms, which all brought standing
ovations. Opera Chic is just glad she was able to catch this great pianist
play live in such a beautiful city that cherishes its musicians. btw, we found one of Jessica's 2005 Sokolov
performance reviews on a Sokolov
website, and we love this
quote: "And although he's a big bear of a man, he can be as graceful
as a ballet dancer (take the hand crossings in the Schubert) and create
sounds as delicate as a hummingbird." It's a wonderful quote because
it's true! He's just perfect. Now here's a picture of some random ladies mobbing the
vendor in the lobby of Conservatorio after the show for Sokolov discs vvvvvvv |