Piano Concerto No 1 - Barcarolle

The jewel case on my cd was racked. Please wrap the cd a little better. Overall everything else was great,

Daniil Trifonov is a Russian pianist who won one of the prizes at the 2010 International Chopin Competition when he was only 19. This CD was recorded back then. He has had a burgeoning career since then and he has recorded two previously released Chopin CDs:  Daniil Trifonov Plays Frederic Chopin  & Mazurkas Op 56 / Nocturne in B Major  to general praise.The thing that makes the present CD most interesting is the performance of the strings-only re-orchestration of Chopin's First Piano Concerto in E Minor, Op. 11, which was made by the conductor of this performance, Wojciech Rajski. Ever since its first performance in 1830 and its publication in 1833 commentators have remarked on the concerto's awkward orchestration. Actually, the orchestra part for this concerto plays a very secondary role to the brilliant piano writing. Hence, I feel that this version for string orchestra takes nothing away from the concerto and even perhaps mitigates some of the full score's clumsy writing for winds. This is not the first re-orchestration ever made for the concerto. Mily Balakirev made one in 1910 and Robert Hofmann made one for string quartet (plus double bass) in 1870. There have also been myriad arrangements for two pianos and even solo piano, one of them by the virtuoso pianist Carl Tausig in 1890. Be that as it may, Trifonov plays beautifully in this performance, both in the brilliant first and last movements and in the lyrical larghetto Romance. One can hear why Trifonov was awarded a prize at the Chopin Competition, particularly when one hears the solo works on the disc.The Barcarole in F Sharp Major, Op. 60, is one of Chopin's most intriguing compositions. Although the gently rocking barcarole rhythm is present, this is not your Mendelssohnian gondola-piece; it is Slavic to its melancholic core. It is a full-blown nine-minute workout for the pianist with long reaches for the left hand and pages of finger-twisting sixths and thirds for the right. It was written when Chopin was already quite ill and is the last large-form piece he ever wrote. The Barcarole is not easy to play without it either becoming boring or, conversely, too nervous. Trifonov strikes a wonderful balance, keeping the forward-movement alive in the service of telling this wonderful piece's emotionally moving tale.The two Impromptus that follow -- A Flat Major, Op. 29, and F Sharp Major, Op. 36 (by the way, this latter impromptu and the Barcarole are the only pieces Chopin ever wrote in this key) -- couldn't be more different from each other. The first has a perpetual motion figuration in triplets in its outer sections that gives it a restless, even histrionic flavor. The second is virtually a nocturne with a gently rocking motion; its middle section is heroic in impact. Again, Trifonov has the measure of both these works. This makes me wish to hear him play all of Chopin's impromptus.The final work is one not all that characteristic of Chopin, the Tarantella in F Sharp Major, Op. 43. It may have been inspired by Rossini's 'La Danza'. Whatever the case, this is a brief work that is rarely played, even though its virtuosity would make it attractive for pianists with advanced technique I should think. Perhaps the problem with it is that it does not show the usual Chopinesque melancholy. The American music writer, James Huneker, wrote waspishly that Chopin's Tarantella is as Italian as Ravel's Bolero is Spanish. Whatever the case, Trifonov plays the devil out of it, showing that he not only has fingers but a sense of good fun.This is an outstanding release.Scott Morrison

The only downside to this beautiful recording is they did not do Concerto Nº 2

nachdem ich Trifonof in einem Konzert erlebt hatte (München, Academy St. Martin in the Fields; Mozart) besorgte ich mir alle Einspielungen von ihm, denn es war atemberaubend schön - wie aus fernen Sphären. Von den CD's bin ich biserher allerdings durchweg enttäuscht.

Du très beau piano, un pianiste hors normes dont j'ai déjà vanté toutes les qualités dans d'autres commentaires, mais un enregistrement médiocre avec une grande réverbération sonore qui nuit au plaisir de l'écoute. A se demander si ce n'est pas un enregistrement fait à la va vite pour profiter de l'effet "concours Chopin". Les cd du concours Chopin sont, par contre, parfaits de qualité sonore et, comme ils contiennent des oeuvres communes avec celui-ci, autant vaut les préférer.. C'est dommage pour Daniil Trifonov, un très grand au-dessus des très grands.

D. Trifonov ist sicher eines der herausragenden Talente der jungen Pianisten-Garde. Er spielt technisch auf höchstem Niveau und verfügt über eine ungemein intensive Ausdrucksstärke (das erlebt man live natürlich nochmal ein Stück stärker als auf CD). Faszinierend an der vorliegenden Aufnahme ist das Zusammenspiel mit dem Kammerorchester, das überwiegend exquisit ist und Nuancen hörbar werden lässt, die mit großem Orchester so nicht wahrnehmbar sind. Der erste und zweite Satz bieten somit ein außergewöhnliches Hörvergnügen. Etwas geschmälert wird die Freude durch den dritten Satz, in dem der Spannungsbogen nicht gehalten wird und unmotivierte Tempiwechsel regelrecht stören. Man hat das Gefühl, dass da die Zeit für die Einspielung etwas knapp geworden ist. Aber die ersten beiden Sätze lohnen den Kauf trotzdem. Einen Liveauftritt sollte man sich nicht entgehen lassen!

Warum werden genau die drei Stücke angehängt, die Chopin selbst als fragwürdig oder schwach bezeichnet hat? Schade. Die Qualität von Trifonov ist für mich zzt nicht zu überbieten, Klavierkonzert 1 und Bacarolle sind große Klasse.

schon die wenigen Einzelstücke und das Konzert geben eine Vorahnung von dem, was wir von Trifonov noch alles erwarten können. Ob erdie Etüden auch noch vollständig einspielen wird? Und das andere Konzert?