Renowned pianist Grigory Sokolov will present the final concert of this year's Schenectady Museum-Union College Concert Series on Saturday, May 16, at 8:00 p.m. in the College's Memorial Chapel.
The program is to include Rameau's Suite in G from “Nouvelles Suites de Pieces de Clavecin,” Beethoven's Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31, No. 1, and Brahms' Sonata in C major, Op. 1.
In 1966, as a ninth grader, Grigory Sokolov entered the renowned Tchaikovsky Piano Competition and walked away with First Prize and the prestigious Gold Medal. In The New York Times, Harold Schonberg wrote, “He possesses brilliant finger and chord technique, he easily wields the piano, so easily that he performs prestississimo… with refined lightness. It was a startling performance.”
Musically precocious, Sokolov had attracted attention in the Russian music world since the age of five. His early education was at a special music school, but then he attended the Leningrad Conservatory, and made his first important public appearance at age twelve. After winning the Tchaikovsky, he toured with the Moscow Philharmonic to Italy, Portugal, Germany, and the United States. Critics have consistently labeled Sokolov as a “world-class pianist,” “a born storyteller,” “an impulsive, volcanic personality with immense musical versatility and stature.”
Memorial Chapel is located near the center of the Union campus. Parking is available on campus and on nearby side streets.
Tickets, at $20 ($8 for students), are available in advance at the Schenectady Museum (518) 382-7890 and at the door at 7 p.m. For more information, call 372-3651.