The creative personality of Grigory Sokolov in the piano art of the XX–XXI centuries
Authors: Chychkanov Ihor 
Published: March 2021

Problem statement. Piano art of the XX–XXI centuries is extremely colorful and, perhaps, provocative phenomenon, whose uniqueness is determined primarily by the coexistence of numerous creative principles and individual preferences. This determines the constant relevance of questions of the interpretation of performance and identification of factors influencing the formation of the performance concept of a musical piece. The system of causation, which is the basis for the interpretation of a particular piece of music toughts such factors as school, nationality, era, style, personality of the artist and even the condition of the instrument, the acoustics of the hall, etc. All these parameters affect the formation of individual performance style. Several aspects of the formation of the pianist’s style are analyzed: the development of personality and character, the piano school, the attitude to musical text, the inclination towards some composers and styles. Objectives. The purpose of this article is to determine the parameters that influenced the formation and development of individual performance style of G. Sokolov. Theoretical background. In this article, we rely on scholar sources, the subject of which are the main categories of performing musicology, especially a category of musical style. The concept of style has been substantially developed by many scholars who have proposed authorial definitions. In this paper we will rely on what was proposed by S. Skrebkov: “Style in music, as in all other arts, is the highest kind of artistic unity”. (Skrebkov, 1973: 10) This understanding of style as a certain integrity, in our opinion, correlates with the point of view of domestic scientist V. Moskalenko (1998, 2012), who emphasizes that the specificity of the musician’s musical thinking determines the uniqueness of his musical language, which, among other things, is the key to its cognition. Thus, the methodological basis of this study is the concept of the style in music by S. Skrebkov (1973), V. Moskalenko (1998, 2012), M. Lobanova (1990). Results for discussion. G. Sokolov is a rather closed person, he has not given interviews for years, he is increasingly concentrating exclusively on his solo career, practically giving up performing with the orchestra. Moreover, this is not a sign of late style, or a certain consequence of personality development, the pianist’s classmates claim that he was like that all his life. So, the only way to determine what influenced the formation and development of individual performance style of G. Sokolov is detailed comparative analysis of the stages of his formation as a musician. In our opinion, later, this closeness, some emotional detachment of G. Sokolov, not only influenced the basic parameters of his individual performance style, but also allowed the pianist to avoid the problems associated with overstrain. We also emphasize that the pianist is characterized by attention to details. G. Sokolov since childhood was interested in butterflies, transport and air routes, rational planning of routes and flights, he was a perfectionist in everything. Let us also mention his child’s passion for conducting, which began his acquaintance with music. It is known that sometimes the repertoire chosen to participate in the competition reveals some secrets of the pianist’s stylistic preferences, but in the case of G. Sokolov it did not happen. The pianist can be called universal. His repertoire includes works of different styles, due to the tendency to present a variety of compositional sound concepts of the world, which is the uniqueness and significance of the art of music. In this regard, the pianist himself says the following: “I think in the art of all who interest us, unites their dissimilarity” (from interview, Sokolov, 2016). Over the years, G. Sokolov increasingly gravitated to miniature forms. Trying to move away from pathetic and epic works, pianist, obviously, prefers the aesthetic dimension of the phenomenon of piano playing. Such a subtle understanding of music characterizes him more as a philosopher than a virtuoso. In a sense, he can be called an artisan, because he just does his job well, it is also an art. It is necessary to disassemble the structure of the work, find a balance, take into account the peculiarities of the sound of the instrument at the time of writing, the style of the author and many other small (but very important) aspects. This jewelry work shows the true style. Conclusions. So, can we call G. Sokolov a pianistic phenomenon? Positive answer can be fortified with factors such as isolation, alienation from many modern trends in culture, while retaining the ability to perform repertoire of completely different styles. For him, the art of music is a very intimate, thoughtful process of understanding meaningful content of each sound. Taking as a basis the thesis of S. Skrebkov that style is the highest form of artistic unity, we can say that G. Sokolov’s style is holistic, convincing and has an impact on modern performing arts precisely because of its uniqueness.