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Grigory Sokolov (piano)
At Esterházy Palace
rec. live, 10 August 2018, Haydnsaal, Esterházy Palace, Eisenstadt, Austria
Reviewed as a digital download from a press preview
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 4861849 [2 CDs: 124:49]

This recital, and the accompanying video, commemorates the visit of the legendary Russian pianist to Eisenstadt to give a concert at the famous Schloss Eisenstadt, a rococo jewel indelibly associated with Joseph Haydn’s tenure as Kapellmeister there. As well as music by Haydn, Sokolov includes works by Schubert as the main elements of the recital on account of a pilgrimage undertaken by the younger composer and his brother in 1828 to visit the grave of his illustrious predecessor. The rest of the programme is filled out with the inevitable but most welcome encores.

I believe this is Sokolov’s first release of Haydn and, in all sorts of ways, this is resolutely old fashioned Haydn. The selection of sonatas itself seems to reflect the old canard that the minor key ones are best. This idea has proven rather stubborn and seems to derive from a nineteenth century notion that Beethoven or rather middle period Beethoven is to be taken as the measure of all things. There is nothing wrong with choosing the minor sonatas except for a lack of originality in terms of programming: everybody does the B minor and G minor. The wonderful, rather elliptical C sharp minor is much rarer and more welcome as a result.

Old fashioned needn’t be a criticism either as Sokolov’s relaxed tempi are a breath of fresh air after so many performances that sound like a typist trying to demonstrate how many words per minute they can manage. Moderato is by far the most common tempo marking in these sonatas and Sokolov takes Haydn as his word. Equally welcome was his resisting the temptation to hammer away at the piano – a recurrent problem in the finale of the B minor. This is very refined piano playing, alert to the little details so crucial in Haydn if the character of each piece is to emerge. The downside is that sometimes , as in the minuet finale of the C sharp minor, the result is a little stilted as though the dancers are encumbered by stiff but gorgeous jewel bedecked clothes. This is more like Horowitz teasing out colours from Scarlatti than Richter’s magnificently craggy take on the Haydn sonatas.

Sokolov was clearly in mellow mood that August day in 2018 as tempi are similarly relaxed in the Schubert D935 impromptus. I suspect DG were mightily relieved to get to release this second set of the impromptus with the first set already available on a previous album. I might characterise Sokolov’s Schubert as sober. There is no ranting and raving but it is immensely serious. Sometimes, as in the second (or is it third?) subject group of D935 No.1 I would have liked him to unbend a little and treat this heavenly melodic outpouring in a more ingratiating way. The same could be said for No.2 which seems a little glum rather than elegantly solemn, all trace of the dance roots of its sarabande erased. It is true that Richter could get like that in Schubert but there was always a manic intensity to his playing that compensated. In the trio of this same second impromptu of the D935 set, I found Sokolov gruff and a bit noisy. I know it will be tantamount to heresy to his legions of admirers but I found myself getting a little bored during this performance which seemed neither transcendent nor beguiling. Turning to Brendel or Perahia, to cite just two examples, and I get both qualities in greater abundance.

Cordelia Williams’ recording of the third impromptu demonstrates that seriousness of purpose and grace are not mutually exclusive but Sokolov’s version, rather wistfully sad, seems weighed down with all the cares of the world for all the sophistication of his pianism. The way he spins out the melodic line in the first variation is piano playing of a very high order but it remains that to my ears – there has to be more than just good piano playing when it comes to Schubert. There is precious little wit or charm and the vision remains earthbound. The minor key variation seems to fit Sokolov’s conception of the piece better but even then I found it a little heavy-handed as though it were Rachmaninov. The sphinx like final impromptu of the D935 set fares rather better under Sokolov’s fingers without ever approaching the otherworldly luminosity of Curzon’s famous account.

The encores start with the fourth of the D899 set of impromptus which brings similar strengths and weaknesses to the later set. It is clearly audible why his touch brings gasps from other pianists but to my ears it doesn’t add up to much more than that where Brendel, for one, takes us on a winter’s journey. There is rather more play in the Hungarian melody but again he doesn’t match Andras Schiff on the fortepiano on ECM.

He is on safer ground in the other encores: The birds of the Rameau peck, chatter and sing as much as anyone could want; the Raindrop prelude is deep and soulful; and the Griboyedov an elegant slice of Slavic melancholy. The Debussy with which the recital concludes offers a tantalising glimpse that had me wanting more.

I should imagine this recital will keep Sokolov’s fervent admirers more than pleased but, as much as I enjoyed it, I was left with too many reservations to give it more than a qualified welcome. Sokolov’s is an art that I more often find myself admiring rather than loving and this new release stays firmly on the side of admiration but I will take no issue if other listeners are more bowled over than I was. If nothing else, Sokolov is too great an artist not to command our attention.

David McDade


Contents
Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809)
Piano Sonata No.32 Hob XVI:44 [14:54]
Piano Sonata No.47 Hob XVI: 32 [16:27]
Piano Sonata No.49 Hob XVI: 36 [18:01]
Franz SCHUBERT (1798-1828)
Impromptus D935 [42:51]
Impromptus D899:4 in A flat major [8:31]
Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683–1764)
Le Rappel des oiseaux from Pièces de clavecin [3:01]
Franz SCHUBERT
Hungarian Melody D 817 [4:07]
Frédéric CHOPIN (1810–1849)
Prélude in D flat major “Raindrop” op. 28/15 [7:07]
Alexander GRIBOYEDOV (1795–1829)
Waltz in E minor [2:28]
Claude DEBUSSY (1862–1918)
Des pas sur la neige L 117/6 No. 6 from Préludes, Book 1 [4:22]