{"id":9599,"date":"2013-02-06T18:52:47","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T22:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=9599"},"modified":"2013-02-24T22:09:50","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T02:09:50","slug":"a-gentle-tchaikovsky-gold-medalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=9599","title":{"rendered":"A Gentle Tchaikovsky Gold Medalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sedgwick Clark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniil Trifonov is a diplomat at the keyboard, not a pounder. We\u2019re so used to powerhouse Russian pianists that the slight young man who bounded onstage Tuesday evening for his Carnegie Hall recital debut and proceeded to caress the keys took at least one listener by surprise. Winner of the prestigious Tchaikovsky and Rubinstein competitions, he has the all-powerful Valery Gergiev in his corner and encomiums from several distinguished fellow pianists. He has recorded a Chopin CD for Decca and\u00a0Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with Gergiev for the Mariinsky label.\u00a0A recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon was announced today, beginning with\u00a0the release of this concert\u00a0(2\/6).<\/p>\n

This one-man jury was out in the recital\u2019s first half. As in the case of another of his generation\u2019s pianistic talents of slight build, Yuja Wang, who made her Carnegie Hall recital debut last season, I wondered how wise it is to rush accomplished yet unformed artists into such prominent venues. Scriabin\u2019s Second Sonata didn\u2019t seem ideally arresting for Trifonov\u2019s recital opener, although the heavily Russian audience probably disagreed. And Liszt\u2019s half-hour Sonata in B minor, with which Wang concluded her recital last season, is difficult to make cohere under any circumstances, at any age. Its fireworks are irresistible to young artists, but its dangers are manifold. In my concert experience, Arrau and Brendel conquered it masterfully; under Horowitz it fell apart. Trifonov simply lacked the requisite weight.<\/p>\n

The recital\u2019s second half, the Chopin Preludes, was something else. Again and again, one warmed to his light tone and simple, unsentimental, poetic \u2013 and eminently satisfying — approach. The little A major Andantino<\/em>, which many cannot resist personalizing (Arrau is laughable on his Philips recording), was played in a single lambent breath \u2013 perfection! The varying moods of the \u201cRaindrop\u201d were superbly rendered. And in the final Prelude in D minor, Trifonov threw caution to the winds with impassioned turbulence.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly an artist to watch.<\/p>\n

Deception<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hollywood has never been lacking for howlers, and one of my favorites is in the film Deception <\/em>(1946), starring Bette Davis, Paul Henried as a cellist she loves, and Claude Rains as a jealous composer named Alexander Hollenius. After a rehearsal for the composer\u2019s new concerto (by Korngold, actually), a reporter asks the cellist to name his favorite contemporary composers, and he replies thoughtfully, \u201cWell, let me see. Stravinsky, when I think of the present. Richard Strauss, when I think of the past. And, of course, Hollenius, who combines the rhythm of today with the melody of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was reminded of this line the other day by a press release for an upcoming Decca CD by Nicola Benedetti called \u201cThe Silver Violin,\u201d featuring Korngold\u2019s Violin Concerto and numerous short pieces focusing \u201con the timeless music of the silver screen.\u201d A Gramophone <\/em>reviewer stated that \u201cBenedetti need not fear comparison with the likes of Shaham, Mutter and Laurent Koscia . . . .\u201d Laurent who? I wonder if the reviewer ever heard of Jascha Heifetz, who gave the work\u2019s premiere in 1947 and whose 1953 RCA recording is still considered peerless by most critics?<\/p>\n

Looking Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

My week\u2019s scheduled concerts (8:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted):<\/p>\n

2\/7 at 7:30. Avery Fisher Hall. New York Philharmonic\/Andris Nelsons; Christian Tetzlaff, violin. Dvor\u00e1k: The Noon Witch<\/em>. Brahms: Violin Concerto. Bart\u00f3k: Concerto for Orchestra.<\/p>\n

2\/12 at 7:30. Avery Fisher Hall. New York Philharmonic\/Long Yu. Chinese New Year Celebration.<\/p>\n