Salzburg, Day 13, Grigory Sokolov

 I've been a fan of Sokolov for quite a few years now and I have seen him play in concert twice before--once in Bologna and once here three years ago. So I was very much looking forward to hearing him again. And the hall was over-sold again with about thirty or so extra seats placed on the aprons on either side of the stage. I noticed a couple of empty seats, which I assume meant that those folks had either suffered a critical injury or were knocked unconscious and unable to attend. Also, the audience was of all ages. I noticed a lot more Chinese families attending, often with their children. And again, the concert concluded with the customary six encores. Before I am chastised for not knowing which pieces were played, let me again remind everyone that I am a classical guitarist and I am simply not that familiar with the immense piano repertoire. I would venture that the fourth encore was probably François Couperin and the fifth possibly Chopin, but that's as much as I would guess.

The program was divided into a first half of Bach and the second half devoted to Chopin and Robert Schumann. I've often thought that the problem with including works by J. S. Bach in a program is that they tend to overshadow everything else. And so it was last night. The concert began with the quite obscure Four Duets BWV 802-805 from Clavier Übung III. They seem to show Bach at his most adventurous and for me they were the highlight of the evening. Following was the Partita No. 2 n C minor, BWV 826, also played with inventive clarity.

The second half had two groups of mazurkas by Chopin, op. 30 and op. 50 played with Sokolov's usual meticulous brilliance. The program ended with the nine pieces of Waldszenen op. 82 by Schumann which I suspect I have not heard before. But that was not the end of the concert--no, there were half an hour of encores to follow. Again, sorry I can't name them for you, but the third was a nimble-fingered scurry reminiscent of the Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov (but not that piece). Lots of composers have written bumblebee or hummingbird pieces including a couple for guitar.

A wonderful evening, confirming once again that Grigory Sokolov is at the pinnacle of pianistic elegance.

Let me add just a note about the Großes Festspielhaus: it is a beautifully designed hall. The seats are reasonably comfortable and there are plenty of exits--fourteen at least. So the entire two thousand-plus concert-goers can exit to the Karajan-platz where their champagne awaits in just a very few minutes. There are also nearly-adequate bathrooms and a huge cloakroom area (is there a more modern term for this?) where you can check your umbrella or overcoat. Here is a photo:

Cloakroom of the Großes Festspielhaus

The problem with so many spaces used for concerts (such as churches) that were not designed as concert spaces is poor access, inadequate bathrooms and no cloakroom. This is how it looks when it is done properly. And yes, you can't see them in the photo, but each area had its own attendants.

UPDATE: I see that the Festival elves have updated the Sokolov program to include which pieces he played as encores.

ENCORE

ALEXANDER SKRYABIN

Prelude e-Moll op. 11/4

FRYDERYK CHOPIN

Mazurka op. 63 Nr. 3

Etude op. 25/2

HENRY PURCELL

Chaconne in G minor ZT 680

FRYDERYK CHOPIN

Mazurka in F, Op. 68 No. 3

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ - Choral prelude

No, I could not be successfully employed as an encore-guesser except in classical guitar concerts.