Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov (Russian: Григо́рий Ли́пманович Соколо́в; born 18 April 1950) is a Russian[1] and Spanish pianist.[2] He is among the most esteemed of living pianists,[3][4][5] with his repertoire spanning composers from the Baroque period such as Bach, Couperin or Rameau up to Schoenberg and Arapov. He regularly tours Europe (excluding the UK).
In March 2009, Sokolov cancelled a planned concert in London because of British visa requirements which demanded that non-E.U. workers provide fingerprints and eye prints with a visa application (he also cancelled his 2008 concert on similar grounds). Sokolov protested that such requirements had echoes of Soviet oppression.[25]
