[ Deutsche Grammophon / 3 CD/Blu-ray Disc ]
Release Date: Friday 8 April 2022
Should this item be out of stock at the time of your order, we would expect to be able to supply it to you within 2 - 4 weeks.
Grigory Sokolov, one of the most remarkable living pianists, plays Haydn and Schubert from the Esterházy Palace. Few locations for a concert could be more inspiring than the Haydnsaal of the Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt. Here, midway between Vienna and the Hungarian border, Joseph Haydn spent over three decades serving as Kapellmeister to the Esterházy Princes, during this time composing many of his symphonies, choral works and string quartets, and, not least, most of his 60-odd piano sonatas.
Sokolov plays three Haydn sonatas, the Schubert Impromptus D 935, and a generous selection of encores, all in the spectacular hall in which Haydn himself would have performed countless times. This concert from September 2018 is now available as a combined pack with two CDs and a Blu-ray disc.
'Sokolov is in top form, with some of his chosen pieces having the freshness of a new revelation. The first Impromptu (marked Allegro moderato) begins with such slow deliberation that one fears it will never get airborne, but when it delicately jewelled. He brings to the work a light, transparent touch and a sweetly singing tone.' BBC Music Instrumental Choice June 2022
"Sokolov's manner in Haydn is pointed and detaché, which recalls a harpsichord, but his use of rubato is Romantic, and his dynamic shading takes advantage of the piano's capacities. This amalgam of stylistic gestures is pleasing, and the sensitivity of Sokolov's phrasing sustains interest." Fanfare
Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 32 in G minor, Hob.XVI:44
Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 47 in B minor, Hob.XVI:32
Haydn: Piano Sonata No. 49 in C sharp minor, Hob.XVI:36
Schubert: 4 Impromptus, D935
Schubert: 4 Impromptus, D899 (Op. 90)
Rameau: Le rappel des oiseaux
Schubert: Hungarian Melody in B minor D817
Chopin: Prelude Op. 28 No. 15 in D flat major 'Raindrop'
Griboyedov: Waltz in E minor
Debussy: Des pas sur le neige (from Préludes - Book 1)