As a professional pianist, I have a conclusion about this video. The most difficult thing to do, in terms of technical aspect, is to keep the steady precise rhythm even when your emotions start to take over such a powerful work of art such as Prokofiev. It is difficult to keep the same tempo all the way especially when you DESPARATELY want to go faster. That's why I consider this performance as THE BEST rendition of Prokofiev 7th Sonata. Not because of the visual perspective, but the clarity, dynamic, steadiness, edginess, selflessness, and as well as musical mapping.

@eddiedecazalet6836

2 жыл бұрын

Good comment. May I ask you please. Wondering what capacity you perform instruct professional occupational position you may hold? As a comparison then, I am wondering, how many weeks or months do you feel it would take you personally to perform Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Sonata if you were to commit 3 hrs per day / 7 days per week SOLELY on this major Sonata. You reply would help me judge my level of learning as a comparative to yours as a ' professional. Any achieved Diplomas or Concert touring you may have done would help me balance your answer. My thks in advance.

@adrianopiano5551

2 жыл бұрын

I think the hardest thing is his sound.. that you can only achieve by doing his articulation. This is a GREAT

@damongatewood795

2 жыл бұрын

I appreciate this performance because it aligns with the overall affekt of the sonata, the relentless arrival of a war.

@Haichcom

2 жыл бұрын

This is really great performance with very clear stresses and articulations. However, I'd ask your opinion on Sultanov's performance, which much faster but not blurred and powerful like hurricane. kzread.info/dash/bejne/f5WazLKHndvLc9I.html

@beverleybrackett8129

2 жыл бұрын

For me, it's the intensity of his performance, his total dedication to the compelling nature of the tempo, just everything about this moment in time. Then he just walks off the stage, because, really, he left it all on the piano keys. He's just mesmerizing.

It is the inexorability of his tempo that makes it so much more powerful than most performances. It ends at the same tempo he starts with but with such a massive increase of sound. And this is the same man that can hold an audience transfixed with Rameau, Couperin, and Byrd.

That crescendo at 3:48 gives me chills every time. The is becoming my new favorite of all You Tube videos.

Grigory Sokolov gives a truly overwhelming performance of Prokofiev's Precipitato. Starting rather prosaic and controlled he unleashes the beast very soon, still keeping the rythm calm and steady, serving us the final inferno in an extraordinary cultivated manner without sparing us from its original energy. That's world class!

In terms of the sheer inexorable power of this music and the weight of sonority Sokolov elicits from the piano, there are few who come close to this. Pollini gives you an étude, Sokolov gives you a monstrous, inhuman machine.

@chrisosborne5464

2 жыл бұрын

Very well said! 1:31 - 1:43 had me feeling almost sick with unease, like I was in the presence of something truly diabolical! Fantastic and unique performance... which is something that can be said for some other Sokolov recordings too.

What an amazing musical mind Prokofiev had. So totally different than any other Composer. Even today his music seems futuristic. To think that his 2nd Concerto is 100 years old is astounding. Musically he was on an Island all his own.

Probably the best video on KZread

This is without doubt the most electrifying and quite possibly the best performance of this incredible masterpiece. Simply unbelievable.

@denisjtassart2174

5 жыл бұрын

lets go back to RICHTER !

@lalamusic58

4 жыл бұрын

I'm sorry, you should listen to Alexei Sultanov. You will change your mind.

@simonsikorsky5895

3 жыл бұрын

You should definitely listen to Yulianna Avdeeva. She plays this absolutely magnificently! But Sokolov’s interpretation is also fantastic

@HermanIngram

3 жыл бұрын

Sokolov plays like a student compared to Horowitz and Richter.

@99Grigor

3 жыл бұрын

@@HermanIngram Dude, everything Sokolov plays is tight, accurate, crystal clear and has an incredible sense of power and intense!

A friend played this for me saying "it's my new favorite recording of Precipitato" and within 5 seconds I started laughing and said "Sokolov!" Not because I'd heard it before, but only he could create such textures, such clarity. Listen to his Rameau or his Hammerklavier -- his timbre is unmistakeable. Greatest pianist alive.

@robertoprevosto

2 жыл бұрын

His recording of La poulle is simply inhuman, always gives me chills.

@Brian013100

2 жыл бұрын

@@robertoprevosto if youre referring to the 1998 Madrid concert, you're absolutely right!

Probably the best version on KZread in my opinion. His articulation and dynamics are just perfect. While I understand some may not like his slow tempo, he at least makes you listen more to what's actually going on in the music.

@ukdavepianoman

9 жыл бұрын

piano1500 Agree. Seems odd some people think it's too slow, since if it were faster the clarity, precision and metronomic, rigid tempo might be lost. I never tire of returning to this performance.

@ofakar

7 жыл бұрын

couldn't've said it better myself. This rendition is so good because of exactly those reasons. It's perfectly paced for the breathtaking ending.

@JoEbY-X

6 жыл бұрын

Pollini's version is precipitato, fast, and clear. My favorite.

@herodot2

6 жыл бұрын

Tempo is always a function of phrasing (among other things). If you can phrase like Sokolov - few can - this is the right tempo.

@MartinVanBoven

6 жыл бұрын

Must be s different Pollini version I found on KZread. What i Found is way too fast, way too loud, and as a result looses all clarity, instead devolving into mindless hammering.

4 minutes of pure genius -composer and performer

No comments?? That's the best performance of this piece I have ever heard! Look at that staccato.. that's REALLY "detaché", not like Lang Lang sauce..

@massspec8718

4 жыл бұрын

I wonder what would you think of Horowitz’s version

@andreypushkin7751

Жыл бұрын

"Lang Lang sauce"🤣

Ah, those inner voices... Phenomenal Sokolov!

Perfect tempo, not slow at all, any faster or you won't be able to hear his amazing articulation/phrasing.

@claudiasibila8659

4 жыл бұрын

Totally agree. Have you heard Martha Argerich's version? She plays it so fast as if she needs to go pee and wants to be done with it fast.

@Cemballo

Жыл бұрын

@@claudiasibila8659 Yes totally agree.

Я кажеться заново открыл для себя это сочинение. Просто невероятное исполнение, Соколов истинный Прокофьевец!!!

3:19- Watch his right hand swoop and crash with deadly accuracy and do the same a few seconds later from head height. Superhuman skill.

@Tiradambo

7 жыл бұрын

Philip, (high) vertical (Bow-) Movements with Hand and Arms are always much more accurate then (fast) Movements horizontally (Look on the Black keys under your Hands when you make a horizontally Movement over the Keyboard! - you can't see anything, an second, you will lost a lot of energy by braking the Movement right or left. Vertical Movements are the most economic Way to do this right and economic. For Sokolov more then other Pianists. But the Movement in this case is always the same.

@RobinLSL

5 жыл бұрын

Actually he has wrong notes in the chord both times! Not that it matters of course...

@jackcurley1591

4 жыл бұрын

RobinLSL I actually think the dissonance those notes create sounds good lol

@carloseliasmondinibelletti1798

3 жыл бұрын

Só Prokoffief podemos dar essa atenção poderosa todos os tempos em execução personalidade de composição

@brianlin1247

3 жыл бұрын

he actually makes a mistake in both times, don't try to sound smart when you don't know XD

Sokolov drags you into the feeling, and has you moving like him in no time. Incredible.

another of my favorites pianists of all times,this rendition is incredible

@TheMightyFork_

5 жыл бұрын

Isn’t he great??

This performance is fantastic. I don't think playing faster means better or more brilliant. The tempo that Maestro Sokolov played is perfect for displaying colors, levels inside, and still remaining dramatical music.

I've just been listening to a whole heap of performances of this piece on KZread, and the conclusion I've come to is... piano fans love to argue about who's best :P Personally, I dunno, I don't really have a favourite. I just like the fact that there's so much diversity. I do really like this slower paced version, but there are faster ones I like just as much. And faster ones I don't like anywhere near as much. Honestly, it's just good to have the option to watch them all... we live in a fotunate age :)

@dmitrystroganov9123

2 жыл бұрын

Extremely wise comment - that one can so rare come across among the numerous "your would better go and hears..." of SO CALLED "piano fans"! Who are in fact not "piano fans" at all - they just want to assert themselves and impose their personal preferences - which are intrinsically subjective...

You can't ever get tired of listening to this performance of the Maestro Sokolov, Bravo!!!

This is why I love this pianist, the ability to keep the feel of the rhythm while not getting taken over by how astounding this work is.

It's a crime against humanity that this video only has 43.000 views.

@cherylfoster9330

9 жыл бұрын

This is an accurate statement.

@ofakar

9 жыл бұрын

Damn right!

@GeorgeShum

5 жыл бұрын

it has 173.5k now

@Qee7en

5 жыл бұрын

A crime committed by whom? The one's who haven't watched it? Wouldn't that be... most of humanity?

@johnmanfra1

5 жыл бұрын

No, it is a crime against humanity that you and others can’t count. It shows 1.6k likes and 29 dislikes, which add up to only 1629 views!

Sokolov has shown us that tempo is not the only element in infusing excitement into a masterpiece!!

Perfect tempo and totally in control. Most interesting version.

Best version on KZread

My fingers got arthritis just by looking at this performance.

when at 2:47 he comes back in the main theme and STARTS HAMMERING ON THAT FUCKING PIANO TO DESTROY IT, it just blows my mind. every time.

I had a chance to listen Sokolov's recital in Vilnius (Lithuania) several years ago. For me it was the best piano performance ever.

Григорий может заворожить🤦‍♀️ Браво!❤Гениальный🙌

I have heard so many versions of this sonata played by various virtuoso pianists. Sokolov’s version was the slowest one but THE MOST POWERFUL one ever.

Браво, брависсимооо! Гениальное исполнение ! Григорий Соколов !!!!

A couple of ears later be like, NO< still the best rendition, noone comes even close to that. Exactly because he's not spoiling this Hell by galloping through it - he takes it moderately, merciless rythmically, andshows of every bit of darkness, every machine gun shot, every distorted harmony, into a huge, massive, gigantic build up culmination. Definitely an usurpassable accomplishment.

This performance literally gave me goosebumps. Still tingling. The word that comes to mind is RELENTLESS. This is, after all, the climax to one of Prokofiev's three "war sonatas," and the feeling Prokofiev created of a cruel, unstoppable war machine is frightening and amazing. For me, Sokolov's unwavering, steady tempo, with its relentless drive, is perfect. I think the composer would have approved.

Думаю, это самое лучшее исполнение этой вещи из всех что я слышал.

Григорий Соколов - гениальный посредник между композитором и слушателем! Музыка С. С. Прокофьева - это ВЕРШИНА человеческого разума.

Mind blowing.I just fell in love with his version of Rameau Les Cyclopes,now this ! I am a happy bunny !

That was astonishing! Such absolute control over such mania towards the end!

The best version I’ve ever heard , perfect tempo and rhythm. Hats off

I really think this is the best version in youtube. Thanks for the uploader, and thanks for Grigory.

Fantastic articulation ! The best performance, no doubt. Thanks so much !

Wow. This is an undeniably great performance. Even tho I prefer it played at faster tempo, this is a very persuasive interpretation.

Simplemente el mejor interprete de prokofiev . las notas tan claras, los matices , cada nota tiene un volumen envolvente , como si fuera un mundo cada una de ellas

That's superb. I love a rousingly fast rendition of this movement as much as anyone, provided it is clean and musical. This performance achieves great intensity at a tempo which allows more of Prokofiev's writing to shine through.

Right, so many people play this like they want it to be over. This is my favorite interpretation that I've heard on youtube. He really sinks into the groove.

i really love the way he made it real slow with crystal clear articulation. ingenious!

What a great interpretation. I personally love playing this piece for the unique rhythm patters and with Sokolov's staccato, you can clearly hear it all. I love his dynamics as well.

Вся фантастика цього виконання - ТЕМП! Саме в такому темпі тремтить кожен нерв. Кожне почуття на грані. Вважаю, що саме в цьому сенс цього твору. Дякую за отримане задоволення!

This IS the best. Not a race to the finish like some performers, but a clean and perfect interpretation.

One of the most phenomenal pianists of our time

Absolutely brilliant!!!

Until now i love this performance most! He is like a tank drags you from the beginning to the end but with all sensitive details in the way! Simply Great! Pure enjoyment!

Hermosa sonata!!!!. Keith Jarrett toma como parámetro esta sonata para improvisar, no cabe dudas. Tiene un toque jazzero tremendo!!!!! Genio!!!

Allmost like jazz. Profokiev, what a wonderfully twisted mind!

Quelle performance ! Quel belle oeuvre !

Amazing performance! Perfect.

Просто нет слов ....

Ponderable exquisite tempo setting and its correctness are wonderful :)

Un bloody believable!! This is as fine as things get. Unfathomable greatness from composer and performer.

Chills. What an utterly masterful performance.

Gran trabajo y aporte musical, increíble y magnífico Sokolov!!!

Grandissima interpretazione, lucidissima soprattutto nella dinamica. Complimenti maestro!!!

He gives it air - he let's it breath. He reveals images of excitement, suspense, and mystery everyone else fails to realize as they speed along. This is a "big" piece - and you go slow to make it big. If you want speed, you can do your one stop shopping at the Buniatishvilli camp and check out her Grand Galop - the only challenge to Czifra's I've come across. And then there are the hair tosses...

The best pianist ever!!

Finally someone who tries to get the most out of this movement (rather than be a rockstar)

4 minutes qui transforment votre journée

The precision and intensity here can never be surpassed

быстро играть многие умеют!но это исполнение звучит очень выпукло,наполненно,слышно каждую гармонию,.... супер!!!!1

@user-vo1gx6xm8r

3 жыл бұрын

Мне очень нравится это исполнение, но у Султанова тоже класс, хотя и побыстрее !

@tarasshtonda7875

Жыл бұрын

@@user-vo1gx6xm8r Я понимаю задумку Соколова- не пытаться сделать невозможное. Не соревноваться в скорости с Султановым, а наоборот, зайти с другого конца, и исполнить финал максимально медленно и выпукло. И это действительно получилось выдающееся исполнение. Но Султанов... Это просто совсем другая планета, это немыслимо и абсолютно не достижимо ни для кого. Это- как Рахманинов- свой 3-й играет в полтора раза быстрее всех остальных, а никакой спешки нет, просто музыка летит, не напрягаясь, без малейшего усилия. И никто и никогда 3-й Концерт так уже не сыграет. Так и Султанов- установил недостижимый потолок исполнения 7-й Сонаты Прокофьева НАВСЕГДА.

I became addicted to this video, I can't stop watching it!

Fabulous. So clear and sarcastic !!!

Grandissimo, il migliore in assoluto in questo brano!

Браво гениальному пианисту!

love that piece!

Superb performance! Incredible powerful, with the right, dangerous and war like unhumanness expression. This performance makes the piece unstoppable like a thousand tanks on the battlefield. Not first and foremost angry, but machine like.. Frightening and wonderful. Great art!

Love the incessant, relentlessness of his tempo. Although it’s a toccata, it doesn’t have to be played as fast as most other great pianists perform it. I prefer his tempo. It feels more like the advancement toward war. Regimented, immutable, unyielding, steamrolling over everything in its path. Thrilling performance.

I love this performance so much

Such a creative composition.

one of the best proko7th's musically one of the best visual performances out of any visual performances, srsly xD i also liked how it's the exact "opposite" of my other favorite by argerich.

The greatest performance of this masterpiece on the internet

fantastic ...

10,000 aaaaaaaand running. I could NEVER get enuff of this. Prokofiev got game!!! (Isn't it crazy how we can literally JAM to this!?!?!)

love his compelling rhythm and power

fabuloso pianista,conocelo. un gran abrazo David

Магическое, завораживающее исполнение

The best I've heard - Fantastic, Sokolov!

Sokolov, one of the greatest... Extraordiray powerful...

By far the best rendition of it ever played, and its not even close

He is amazing... a real MASTER of the piano! I was so lucky to hear him on stage live some years ago in Budapest.

Never heard anybody else playing it with such supreme control.

Simply the best !

The performer's looks aside, this is the cleanest and therefore the best interpretation of this piece.

I love how tense and disturbed it is, despite (or probably because of!) the relatively slow tempo.

Браво ! Очень нравится это исполнение и ещё исполнение Султанова, конечно !

@dmitrystroganov9123

2 жыл бұрын

Извините, пож-ста, но если вы упомянули в связи с этой записью имя столь отчаянно рано ушедшего от нас Алексея Султанова, то - чтобы не плодить одинаковые комментарии - мне хотелось бы отметить, что своё мнение на сей счёт я высказал в ответе на отклик "валерия герасимова 11 months ago"... если, конечно, это моё мнение вас хоть как-то может интересовать. Спасибо и ещё раз извините.

Sem dúvida....paira uma agradável mística nas composições dele

The meaning of 'precipitato' is here in the thunder of the repeated C#, and in the uneven seven beats measure, not in the speed. Sokoloff shows this marvellously.

Wow, simplemente wow. Esta música clásica te roba el alma, increíble.

Лучше многих, но не гениального Султанова.

I love the tempo. I know it’s marked precipitato but I agree with the comment about hearing what’s going on in the music. Oh to have been at that concert. I’ve completed the first two movements of this sonata so I have this monstrous third movement ahead of me next.

It's a tight contend between this version and Lang Lang's (Gran Turismo 5 Soundtrack). Huge fan of Prokofiev here

возможно, я выскажу непопулярное мнение, но мне всегда казалось, что Прокофьев задумывал эту сонату, как музыку абсолютно лишенную чувства, как мертвое, но при этом красивое произведение, которое может создать только человек, находящийся в глубокой депрессии. В ней нет ничего что мы могли бы найти в музыке которая писалась до нее. Даже Хиндемит, когда слушаешь его произведения, кажется вкладывает больше эмоций, чем Прокофьев в седьмой сонате. Особенно это слышно в первой части. Думаю Прокофьев всегда тяготел к механистичности в музыке и тут он достиг совершенства своего мастерства. И в этом смысле исполнение Соколова мне кажется излишне идеалистическим.