Olivier Solanet writes: >Before we hastily point 'I told you so' fingers at me, we all know that >Sokolov is an exceptional and extremely rare musician in the truest sense >of the term ... While I agree with Olivier that Sokolov is a wonderful artist and his Diabelli Variations recording one of the best on record, the "we all know" he's exceptional assumption is far from accurate. There are plenty of folks who do not share this assessment and even more who don't know that Sokolov exists. As for Olivier's view that Russian pianists display greater artistry than pianists from other countries, I think it's best not to make such proclamations and simply approach every professional pianist on an individual basis. Don Satz [log in to unmask] *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html