Jul 7, 2022 8pm Stadthalle, Wuppertal
Grigory Sokolov Piano Recital
Beethoven: Eroica Variations
Brahms: Intermezzi op.117
Schumann: Kreisleriana
6 Encores: Brahms, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Chopin, Bach-Siloti
(scroll down for English review)
P約菲的貝多芬交響曲休息一天（應該是要排練壓軸的第九），所以轉到烏珀塔爾看蘇可洛夫的鋼琴獨奏，是魯爾鋼琴節節目之一。上次看他已是三年前，今次是第六次。蘇可洛夫則是這個鋼琴節常客，已是他第24次亮相，以這個節是一年一度來說，真是老朋友。
開場是貝多芬《英雄變奏曲》，蘇可洛夫還是貫徹他粒粒音清晰（只要他想的話）的彈法。不過我覺得未必適合此曲，貝多芬將音符愈拆愈散，散到一個地步就是預期演奏者幾乎彈不到，蘇可洛夫在稍為放慢下粒粒清，令我覺得彈不出應有的失控，不過還是有一種從黑暗到光明的歷程。也需要提的是，我本身對《英雄變奏曲》的好感不大，同期另外兩套變奏曲，作品34及生前沒出版的WoO80，我覺得寫得更好，但反而不及《英雄變奏曲》知名。
三年前聽了他彈布拉姆斯作品118及119小曲集，現在有作品117《三首間奏曲》，只差作品116便集齊晚期布拉姆斯的鋼琴小曲了。相比之前的貝多芬，蘇可洛夫非常注重連奏，而且速度偏快，尤其是第一曲的搖籃曲，比聽慣的還要快。可見到蘇可洛夫不想在布拉姆斯濫情，而較快的基本速度，也令第三曲可以愈彈愈淡。
下半場是舒曼《克萊斯勒魂》，這曲我就覺得是我較想聽的蘇可洛夫，棘手節奏以及旋律都彈得一清二楚，並不是意想不到的詮釋，情感是和別人一樣的，但聲音總是深刻一點。雖然聽到第六次他的現場，早已沒有當初的驚艷，亦會懷疑他的部分詮釋，但至少聽這個《克萊斯勒魂》，發覺只要他彈出來，不令我感覺慢，但實際的演奏時間是比人慢，那我多數就會喜歡，這個演奏長38分鐘，大約比多數人彈的慢10%。快刀斬亂麻彈了六首安歌，有布拉姆斯、史克利亞賓、拉赫曼尼諾夫、蕭邦，最後是他招牌的Siloti版的巴哈前奏曲。雖是他的招牌安歌，但我好像上幾次都沒到這首Siloti了。
My sixth time hearing Sokolov live in as many cities, and the first time since the pandemic. In Beethoven’s Eroica Variations his super-clarity in the tiniest note could still be heard, but I think such clarity defeated Beethoven’s intention to break down the notes to a degree that no pianist could play them all with perfect evenness. Although a sense of chaos was avoided, Sokolov still managed to project a path from darkness to light.
Brahms’ op.117 intermezzi were delivered at tempi faster than we’re used to. Rather than the staccato of the Beethoven that came before, a sweet legato prevailed, and he eschewed sentimentality. So Sokolov isn’t always the “slow” pianist he’s reputed to be.
Schumann’s Kreisleriana took up the second half. I must confess I no longer reacted as ardently as when I saw him ten years ago. And the last couple of times I noticed mannerisms that I didn’t like. But this Kreisleriana was the Sokolov that I liked. Both the melody and the tricky figurations were delivered much deeper than others, but the expression was never distorted. The image was the same but it was starker. This time I think I found a rule of thumb regarding Sokolov. I like it when I feel the interpretation is normal but the actual playing time is significantly slower than usual. Sokolov’s Kreisleriana took 38 minutes, 10% slower than most.
Six encores were swiftly delivered, making this encore section just under half an hour. I don’t know why the last encore of many of his concerts this year was Bach-Busoni’s Ich ruf zu dir, but the last item in this recital is Sokolov’s signature encore, Bach-Siloti’s Prelude. I was happy to hear this tonight as it was played in less than half recitals that I heard of him.