Grigory Sokolov is commonly considered to be the most brilliant pianist of our time. There is a dearth of adjectives able to do justice to the genius of the Russian musician, whose recurrent presence at Gulbenkian Music has provided us with the annual privilege of experiencing his sublime interpretive skills. The filmmaker Bruno Monsaingeon, who filmed a recital by the pianist in 2013, wrote that “Sokolov believes that the stage represents the focus of musical life and that everything else is artificial”. Hence his commitment to each recital is always something to behold.