It was in Britain, in the spring of 2003, at the Yehudi Menuhin School, that I first had the opportunity to hear Valeriy Sokolov play. I had only just learned of his existence when he offered to play me the Ysaÿe Sonata. As he did so, not the slightest tension marred the impression he gave of total ease with his instrument, absolute control of technique, a musical maturity which made the fact that he was only sixteen completely irrelevant, and above all an utter abandonment to the flow of the music... I was seized by a compulsion to try and capture Valeriy Sokolov in all the freshness of his youth as soon as possible. So I made this film...' Bruno Monsaingeon
