Sergei Babayan and Grigory Sokolov join forces in Paris

A meeting of giants: Salle Cortot in Paris on 18 November 2024 saw Grigory Sokolov and Sergei Babayan come together for the first time in their careers to play one two-part recital that will be remembered for years to come. On the eve of day 1,000 of Russia's war of aggression against a free and democratic Ukraine and against a free and united Europe, two of the greatest artists of our time honoured the memory of Pavel Kushnir, a young Russian pianist who died in prison this year because he spoke out against the war. A demonstration without words for the cause of freedom and beauty in a world of ugliness, cynicism and hatred. Unforgettable.

Leading artists from all over the world have declared their solidarity with Grigory Sokolov and Sergei Babayan in a statement of support:

Martha Argerich, Alexeï Aiguï, Leif Ove Andsnes, Jacques Attali, Emanuel Ax, Daniel Barenboim, Elena Bashkirova, Andrey Boreyko, Yefim Bronfman, Semyon Bychkov, Renaud Capuçon, Adam Fischer, Daniele Gatti, Kirill Gerstein, Richard Goode, Maria Gortsevskaya, Ilya Gringolts, Augustin Hadelich, Thomas Hampson, Barbara Hannigan, Pablo Heras-Casado, Janine Jansen, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Evgeny Kissin, Alexander Korsantia, Gidon Kremer, Dmitri Kourliandski, Igor Levit, Elena Lisitsian, Alexei Lubimov, Fabio Luisi, Mischa Maisky, Alexander Melnikov, Julian Milkis, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Maria Nemtsova, Polina Osetinskaya, Sir Antonio Pappano, Dina Parakhina, Kirill Petrenko, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Beatrice Rana, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Donald Runnicles, Andreas Scholl, Olga Shkrygunova, Katia Skanavi, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Dima Slobodeniouk, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Alexandre Tharaud, Christian Thielemann, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Elena Toponogova, Victorien Vanoosten, Franz Welser-Möst, Lilya Zilberstein.