Violinist Valeriy Sokolov and pianist Maria Diana Petrache have a recital at the Romanian Athenaeum on Wednesday, October 15th, starting at 7 p. m. The proposed program incorporates works by Maurice Ravel, George Enescu and Johannes Brahms.

At the Romanian Athaenaeum, together with violinist Valeryi Sokolov, you will present a program dedicated to Maurice Ravel, George Enescu, and Johannes Brahms. Please tell us about this program.

Yes, we will pay homage to composers Maurice Ravel and George Enescu because it represents 70 years since Enescu's death and 150 years since Ravel's birth. Besides this, we know that they were good friends, and we also know that they both were students of the French composer and teacher Gabriel Fauré. We know that just one time they both performed on a stage, at Sala Erard in Paris, in which they had the opportunity to play Sonata No. 2, the one we are going to perform at the recital on October 15th.

We will also perform Enescu's Sonata No. 3 in a special manner, I would say, because Valeryi Sokolov besides the fact that exactly 20 years ago won the first prize at the Enescu competition, also received a special prize for the interpretation of this Enescu's sonata which he later recorded it for a record label. So his experience with this Sonata is truly amazing and multifaceted.

In addition, besides Ravel Sonasta No. 2 that I mentioned we will perform two more works by Ravel, since it's a significant Ravel anniversary year: "Habanera", an earlier work and "Tzigane".

And, besides Enescu and Ravel, we will perform Sonata No. 3 by Brahms too for violin and piano because we know that Brahms was always a kind of idol for Enescu, some sort of role model. And, of course, we can observe the stylistic influence Brahms had on Enescu's work, especially on his early creations.

You also performed the core of this program at a recital in Sinaia, part of the series of events organized by the "George Enescu" Museum within the "George Enescu" International Festival. As you said, you're approaching Sonata No. 3 in a "Romanian Folk" style for the performance for which the violinist Valeyi Sokolov received a prize. Could you tell us more about how you worked together on this Sonata?

He offered me from the beginning, especially in this Sonata, a lot of freedom, which I enjoyed, I admit. The first time when we started working, he told me, "I know that for the piano, this sonata is very, very difficult, so you play your music there, and I'll be with you." That impressed me, considering that he actually had much more experience with this Sonata than I did when we first started working together.

Although it is extremely meticulously notated, it also gives you a huge freedom and huge joy in interpretation because you can never play it in the same way. Each time you get a new idea, you must not only focus on what you have to do, of course, but also listen to the other. And if, in the moment, on stage, he gets, as I said, a new idea, or he lingers longer in one place, or he feels the need to accelerate more in a certain moment, you must be there with him, sense it, and go in the same direction.

So it's paradoxical music; although it's extremely detailed, probably the most meticulously notated music he and I have ever known, at the same time, it's very free and particularly charming. It's really a pleasure to perform together because it's like some kind of dance in which, of course, you respect certain rules, but you also have a certain freedom.

You have been playing together with violinist Sokolov for several years. Among other things, you carried out a project in 2024 entitled "Together for Freedom." How did your collaboration with Valeriy Sokolov begin, and how would you describe this collaboration?

The collaboration began somewhat by chance. I had been invited to a play with the Targu Mures Philharmonic, Beethoven's Triple Concerto, that was in 2022. In fact, the invitation had come earlier, but the pandemic appeared, and the concert was postponed for a year, then the war in Ukraine began, and the concert was postponed again. At first I did not know whom I would play for; I found out later, and I was very happy. But I didn't know if the concert would take place because at that time they were stuck in Ukraine… And it was a very special situation, because only a few days before, about five days before, I was called and told that Valeryi Sokolov and the cellist I was supposed to play with, Aleksey Shadrin, had managed to escape from Ukraine in a situation at the limit, and they were on their way to Targu Mures and were going to play. And you imagine that my first reaction was to panic, because of course I had studied the concert, but I was not expecting to perform it in just a few days. I quickly started to study again. I arrived there, and in the end, it went very well.

That was when we met. Valeryi liked me and invited me to several recitals to play as a duo. We also played in Poland and in Italy; we also played in Romania, in several cities, and sometimes we also played in a trio, together with Aleksey Shadrin, with whom, as I mentioned, I performed Beethoven's Triple Concert.

Yes, this is how the collaboration started, so every time we have the opportunity to play together, it's a huge joy.

In the end, could you tell us what other projects you have in your agenda?

Next, I have more projects focused on the solo part. I will prepare some recitals dedicated exclusively to Haydn because one year ago I focused a lot on Haydn piano sonatas. I analyzed many of them and performed them, and now I will have some recitals, part of them, of course, since there are 62. And the most beautiful will be that I will perform two-lecture recitals in Eisenstadt, the town near Vienna where Haydn actually lived for a very, very long time and where he wrote a lot of music. I will perform them there, at the Conservatory Einstadt.

And, of course, I prepare a concert too-Saint-Saëns, no. 2, for springtime.