Yesterday I went to my second pianist concert of a renowned pianist. And this time no other than the legendary Grigori Sokolov. My first pianist concert was Alice Sara Ott and this concert was really different. Where Ott talked and explained the pieces, Sokolov just came in, sat down and played for like an hour, got up, bowed and walked away for a break. The same after the break.
I got a corner seat on the bottom level:
His program was Beethoven and Schubert:
When he finished he got a standing ovation and came back three times before playing an encore. Got up, bowed, walked away, and came back. 6 times..! He played for a whole extra hour in total. I'm not good enough to recognize the pieces but the woman next to me (for which I talked to the whole evening) could for the most. He played extra Chopin (Mazurka), Brahms (Part of concerto No. 2), Bach/Siloti (Prelude in B Minor) and some more. His playing was sublime and I really enjoyed it.
These two concert I went by myself and for both times I find someone else to talk to about the concert, music and other composers. I told her I am playing Schumann and Tchaikovsky Album for the Young and she said to also check Prokofiev's Music for Children.