The Russian pianist's poetic interpretations, which come to life with mystical intensity in the concert hall, are based on a profound knowledge of his extensive repertoire. His recital programs encompass the entire history of music: from transcriptions of sacred polyphony from the Middle Ages and works for one keyboard instrument by Byrd, Couperin, Rameau, Froberger and Bach, to the classical and romantic repertoire, especially Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms, to key compositions of the 20th century by Prokofieff, Ravel, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Schönberg and Stravinsky.
Grigory Sokolov was born in St. Petersburg. He began playing the piano at the age of five, two years later he began studying with Liya Zelikhman at the Central Music School of the Leningrad Conservatory, and at the age of 12 he gave his first recital in his home city. At the age of sixteen, the young Sokolov made headlines beyond the Soviet Union when he became the youngest musician ever to win the coveted gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1966. While Grigory Sokolov undertook extensive concert tours to the USA and Japan in the 1970s, his artistic skills continued to develop and mature away from the international spotlight. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sokolov began to perform in the major international concert halls and at the most important festivals. As a concert soloist, he worked with many orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Concertgebouworkest Amsterdam, Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Munich Philharmonic, before finally deciding to play only solo recitals. Today, Grigory Sokolov gives around 70 concerts per season, devoting himself entirely to a single program.
Sokolov is one of the rare pianists who is very interested in the mechanics and inner workings of a grand piano. He loves to discuss the grand piano he is playing with the tuner on site; for him, every grand piano has its own unmistakable character that needs to be recognized. For Sokolov, the interaction between pianist and grand piano is a partnership. Only in this way can he explore the full range of an instrument. Critics often describe his ability to emphasize individual voices in the midst of a polyphonic text.
Sokolov has been a Deutsche Grammophon exclusive since 2014; his first CD was released in 2015, a live recording from the 2008 Salzburg Festival with works by Mozart, Chopin, Bach, Rameau and Scriabin. This was followed in 2016 by a CD with works by Schubert and Beethoven and in 2017 with piano concertos by Mozart and Rachmaninoff. The latest release (May 2020) includes works by Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart.