Grigory Sokolov

»Bagatelles? Well yes! But bagatelles by the master Beethoven.« This is how a reviewer in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung in 1826 summarises the contrast between this seemingly so casual genre, the bagatelle, and the heroic reputation of its creator, Ludwig van Beethoven. What's more, the bagatelles op. 126 referred to here are basically Beethoven's last piano works, composed in close proximity to important older works.

Grigory Sokolov: Hero at the keys
Grigory Sokolov's entrance onto the podium and scurrying to the piano also seems casual. And here, too, we are talking about a hero, a pianist whose uniqueness can hardly be compared with that of others. The programme includes the Bagatelles, the Sonata in E flat major op. 7 and Franz Schubert's Sonata in B flat major D 960, the culmination of his sonata oeuvre.