In his new 2-CD recording for Deutsche Grammophon, pianist Grigory Sokolov (b. 1950) gives a very thoughtful recording of two musical giants who rarely appear on the same program together: Henry Purcell and Mozart.

Grigory Sokolov

Better known in Europe than in the US, Sokolov has a long and distinguished career as a modern piano virtuoso. After winning the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition (youngest ever winner at age 16), his international career really didn’t happen until the 1980s. His career in the Soviet Union was well established, but he only did four tours in the US between 1969 and 1979 and gave recitals elsewhere. The break in the relationship between the US and the USSR over Afghanistan made international performance difficult.

The recordings on this album were made in Santander and San Sebastián, Spain, in August 2023 and present us with the latest of Sokolov’s ideas on music.

The album opens with 17 tracks of Purcell, including Suites Nos. 2, 4, and 7, along with other single pieces. Unfortunately, these tracks are not as compelling on piano as they might be. One really wants the harpsichord sound for them – the slightly dry and clipped sound of the harpsichord fits the music better than the over-decorated rich sound that the piano gives us in Sokolov’s hands.

Disc 2 opens with 5 tracks of Mozart, including a beautifully pristine performance of the Piano Sonata No. 13 in B flat Major, K. 333, where all of Sokolov’s art comes into play.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 13 in B flat Major, K. 333 – I. Allegro

The album ends with five very interesting encores ranging from Rameau to Chopin and closing with Bach’s Prelude in E minor, BWV 855 (arranged by Siloti in B minor). This is where the decoration he was trying to put onto the Purcell comes into its own. His performance of Rameau’s Les sauvages from the Suite in G major from the Nouvelles suites de pièces de clavecin of 1727 is a perfect rendition of elegant court music. The Raindrop Prelude (No. 15) and Mazurka No. 40 in F minor by Chopin along with the Bach Prelude in E minor take us back to the composers he played in his first public recital, age 12.

Grigory Sokolov’s Purcell and Mozart

Performed by

Grigory Sokolov

Official Website

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