ÁDÁM SZOKOLAY
"He is a passionate musician, searching for the real meaning of the masterpieces and the composers" - Dénes Várjon
"Ádám Szokolay's superb interpretation of Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 1 showed the power, ferocity and rawness of the work, the dominant role of rhythm, the composer's tendency to use the instrument in a percussive manner, and the barbaric tone that releases energies from the depths of the Earth, which is also expressed in several other Bartók works - Sonata, Out of Doors - of the great "piano year" of 1926. It was a cohesive, suggestive and virtuosic interpretation, which also intelligently perceived the Stravinsky influence present in the work, while asserting Bartók's sovereign manner of speaking." - Kristóf Csengery (Budapest, 2019. September 23.)
"Mozart's Piano Concerto in D minor was performed with the solo by the young Ádám Szokolay. The delicate and flattering character of Szokolay's piano playing fitted the atmosphere of the piece perfectly - all the more so because this character was coupled with a firm hold and clear contours. And with Dinyés, the emphasis on legato, on continuity, proved to be an important common point. [...] After a very beautifully and effectively prepared reprise, Szokolay produced a cadenza of remarkable passion and maturity." - János Malina (Budapest, 2022. January 31.)
"Ádám Szokolay presented Bartók's Sonata for piano - his closeness to the composer was made clear by the fact that he revealed the structure of the work, without dissecting it. He played as if he were composing the sonata himself." - Anita Grüneis, Kultur Zeitschrift (Liechtenstein, 2021. February 11.)
"Listening to Ádám Szokolay, the young Hungarian pianist and winner of the Bartók International Competition, playing on the Vilnius stage, it was as if I could feel the composer's own vividness. The performer, stepping back from the keyboard, prepared himself for a "panther-like leap", reminiscent of Bartók playing. We heard Bartók's works spanning almost twenty years of his career (1907-1926). The pianist performed the Three Hungarian Folk Songs from the Csík Region, the cycle of five pieces Out of Doors, and the Piano Sonata. The pianist, who had read the musical texts well, delicately articulated them using dynamic contrasts and colour characteristics: the active sounds of the drums, the contrasting timbres of the pipes. There were dramatic rhythmic ostinato pulsations and expressive melodic nuances. And The Devil's Hunt became like a conspiracy of the infernal forces of an uncontrolled piano: precise finger attacks, martellato, marcatissimo turning into staccato, which gave the impression of a string spiccato sound. The cycle's piece "Night Music" was somewhat reminiscent of Vytautas Laurušas' idea of "Voices of the Night". The pianist has an excellent command of the instrument's colour palette. He created a shimmering background of the stillness of the night (excellent use of pedalisation), and the unexpected "events" in that shimmering silence. With excellent control of manual technique, pedalling and imagination, the young pianist conveyed the wide spectrum of colours and programmatic nuances of the piece."
- Rita Aleknaitė-Bieliauskienė (Vilnius, 2021. December 3.)