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Written by Willem Boone
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Page 1 of 9 Utrecht, 18 February 2003
There is no bigger difference when facing master pianist Grigory Sokolov on stage just before the beginning of a concert to meeting him afterwards. Sokolov doesn’t lose any time when appearing on stage, he takes his bows and seems already totally absorbed by the music, one wonders if he notices the audience.. The atmosphere in the hall is reminiscent of the concerts of the legendary Sviatoslav Richter, with only a small light on the piano, which made it difficult to see the facial expression and the hands of the pianist.
Backstage, Sokolov is just the kindest person, who takes his time and responds in a very intelligent and disarming way to questions..
Willem Boone had an exclusive interview for www.piano-news.com with the Russian master pianist after his recital on 18 February 2003 in Utrecht.
WB (Willem Boone): You have great affinity to music that has been originally composed for harpsichord, e.g Byrd, Couperin, Rameau. How did you discover this music?Grigory Sokolov(GS): You can’t really say I “discovered”Byrd, Couperin and Rameau. They are great composers, their music will always be modern and live forever. You don’t need to discover them. They are frequently performed, although not very often on the piano. These are great names.
WB: You play the ornaments and trills in this music so fantastically, have you played the harpsichord or do you have one at home?GS: No, not at all. It is a totally different instrument. As with the piano, you need to commit your entire life to it. Every composer has his own sound world and this atmosphere is independent of the instrument.
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English interviews 
