Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata in C major Op. 2 No. 3
Ludwig van Beethoven: Bagatelles Op. 119
Johannes Brahms: Piano Pieces Op. 118
Johannes Brahms: Piano Pieces Op. 119

Encores

Franz Schubert: Impromptu in A flat major D 935/2
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Les Sauvages
Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo in B flat minor Op. 117/2
Jean-Philippe Rameau: Le rappel des oiseaux
Sergei Rachmaninov: Prelude in G sharp minor Op. 32/12
Franz Schubert: Allegretto in C minor D 915
Claude Debussy: Des pas sur la neige

DVD

Works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, Chopin, etc ...

Thank goodness there are still musicians around who don't confuse Allegro with Presto, or Presto with Prestissimo. It's unbelievable the number of younger, up-and-coming pianists these days that feel they have to play everything as fast as possible. What are they trying to prove besides the fact that they don't have one musical bone in their body. The first time I heard Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov was in the early 1990s when he was recording for the Opus 111 label (now defunct or under the umbrella of the Naïve label) and I was highly impressed by his musicianship. There was an integrity, a solidity to his musical thought process back then that remains to this day. His approach to Beethoven's music on this new recital disc is intuitive, highly thoughtful and extremely musical. The various nuanced shades and gradations of dynamics he brings to the music are subtle yet well defined, and add to the music's ebb and flow, and forward rhythmic pulse. His control on phrasing in Beethoven reveals the inner structure of the music at all times. His Brahms is imbued with a freedom of expression that only years of association with this composer's music could allow to percolate to the surface. His Rameau is elegant, pointed and refined. And his interpretation of the Debussy Des pas sur la neige reveals a strange sadness within the music hitherto unnoticed by myself.

It could be said that Grigory Sokolov has become, through his artistry, the master of his own destiny. As the booklet notes point out, he now prefers to perform solo recitals which he methodically plans on his own based on what he happens to find most interesting at the moment. He shuns the studio, the press and social media, and will only allow unedited live takes of his concerts to be released. This recording for example features performances that took place during three different recitals. The only caveat with this is that from the Beethoven to the Brahms for example, there's a highly noticeable change in hall acoustics, piano sound and audio capture, that takes a bit of adjusting to. But this way at least, what you hear is what was experienced in the concert hall, with no digital post-manipulation or fudging involved. Old school pianism that still resonates today!