别名：格里戈里·索科洛夫
国籍：俄罗斯
出生地：俄罗斯圣彼得堡
生日：1950-04-18
教育背景：圣彼得堡音乐学院
严格说来，Sokolov也算属于美苏在冷战时期，在「铁幕」(Iron Curtain)当中「保存良好」的秘密武器之一，一直到了八○年代晚期苏联解体之际，Sokolov才真正寻得向全世界展示他琴艺的机会。
1950年4月18日出生于圣彼得堡的Sokolov，四岁起就有搭台子拿指挥棒的经验，但父母亲则倾向让他走向钢琴这条路，五岁起开始学习钢琴，七岁时进入彼得堡音乐院特别设置的资优班上课，师承著名钢琴家Leah Zelikhman与Moise Khalfin，12岁首度举行公开的演奏会，技惊全场，所有听众都被Sokolov诠释作品的巨大幅度与力度掌握之自然，只需要加上一点点踏板，Sokolov就以他高超无比的十指神技弹奏超出平台钢琴界限的无限音色变化，好像一位拿着调色盘的画家，自发地挥洒各式想象。这个时候全部的听众都注意到Sokolov已经定型的风格，他的诠释有着强烈的诗意，而且相当个人化，他对旋律的自由挥展与乐句的弹性速度控制，已可以带给他的师辈相当大的威胁。
学院方面自然不会忽略这号人物，早早就将他列名为「重点培育」的对象之一。当时美苏在各方面都有争锋之势，文化交流上则以「柴可夫斯基国际大赛」为指标，Van Cliburn因为此赛而一战成名，硬生生在俄国的土地上夺走首届的金牌大奖，成为美国的「民族英雄」，可以想象俄国有多么难堪！以致往后几年俄国钢琴家精锐尽出，誓言要争回面子，其中Sokolov以16岁之龄，在1966年的第三届大赛中抢得第一名与金质奖章，当时以Emil Gilels为主席的评审团无异议一致给予首奖的光荣，也算是替祖国报了一箭之仇。比赛成名进而往外发展，本是顺理成章，不过由于当时与Sokolov商洽演出的美国经纪人去世，加上过不久后阿富汗战争爆发，美苏关系再度转趋恶劣，Sokolov往西方发展的脐带就此被切断许久，直至政治僵局解冻，才又有了一线生机。
Biography：Sokolov was born to Jewish father Lipman Girshevich Sokolov and Russian mother Galina Nikolayevna Zelenetskaya. He began studying the piano at the age of five and he entered the Leningrad Conservatory's special school for children at the age of seven to study with Leah Zelikhman. After graduating from the children's school he continued studying at the Conservatory with Moisey Khalfin.[3] At 12, he gave his first major recital in Moscow, in a concert of works by Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Liszt, Debussy and Shostakovich at the Philharmonic Society.[4] At age 16, he came to international attention when the jury at the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, headed by Emil Gilels, unanimously awarded him the gold medal. It seems this may have been a surprising result: "16-year old Grisha Sokolov who finally became the winner of that competition was not taken seriously by anyone at that time."[5]
"He possesses brilliant finger and chord technique, he easily wields the piano, so easily that he performs the prestissimo of the last movement of the Saint-Saëns Concerto No. 2 with truly refined lightness. It was a startling performance. Doubtless we are going to hear much more about this young talented pianist..."[4]
In fact, despite the international prestige of his Tchaikovsky Competition success, Sokolov's international career began to flourish only towards the end of the 1980s. Some have speculated [6] that his not defecting and the limited travelling allowed under the Soviet regime were to blame. This is contradicted by the fact[4] that Sokolov gave U.S. tours in 1969, 1971, 1975 and 1979,[citation needed] as well as numerous recitals elsewhere in the world such as Finland and Japan. "Sokolov's life as a touring soloist is quite overcrowded. He tours a great deal in both his motherland and abroad."[4]
The 1980s seem to have posed something of a stumbling-block to Sokolov's career in the U.S. "In the beginning, I played a lot of single concerts in America, in 1969, '71 and, I think, 1975. After that there was a break in relationships between the U.S. and the Soviet Union--they were disconnected by the Afghanistan war. A scheduled tour in the U.S. was cancelled in 1980. Then all cultural agreements between the two countries were cancelled."[7] In addition, during the breakup of the former Soviet Union, Sokolov played no concerts outside Russia.[8] He is now a well-known figure in concert halls around Europe, but much less so in the U.S.[9] Sokolov has released relatively few recordings to date, and released none for the twenty years between 1995[9] and 2015. But in 2014 he signed a contract with Deutsche Grammophon to release recordings of some of his live performances,[10] and in 2015 he released a 2-CD live Salzburg recital featuring two sonatas by Mozart, Chopin's cycle of 24 Preludes, and encore pieces by Scriabin, Chopin, Rameau and Bach.
In March 2009, it was reported that Sokolov cancelled a planned concert in London because of British visa requirements demanding that all non-E.U. workers provide fingerprints and eye prints with every visa application (he also cancelled his 2008 concert on seemingly similar grounds). Sokolov protested that such requirements had echoes of Soviet oppression.
Influences：When asked, Sokolov cited the following pianists as having inspired him in his years of studies: "Of those whom I heard on the stage I'd like to name first of all Emil Gilels. Judging by the records, it was Rachmaninoff, Sofronitsky, Glenn Gould, Solomon [and] Lipatti. As to esthetics, I feel most close to Anton Rubinstein."
