Daniil Trifonov Headlines NSO & Carnegie Hall’s Season-Opening Galas; Returns to NY Phil, CSO & Philadelphia Orch; & More

Daniil Trifonov (photo: Dario Acosta)

(September 2022)—“Without question the most astounding young pianist of our age” (The Times of London), Daniil Trifonov maintains a major North American presence this season. He headlines the season-opening galas of the National Symphony Orchestra (Sep 24) and New York’s Carnegie Hall, where his Opening Night concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra (Sep 29) marks the first of his four appearances at the venue in 2022-23. He returns to Carnegie Hall with the National Symphony Orchestra (April 18), as well as for the first of three high-profile collaborations with Joshua Bell (Feb 28) and as the final stop (Dec 7) of an extensive North American recital tour with a new program of Mozart, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Scriabin. Other upcoming highlights include concerts with the New York Philharmonic (Nov 16–19) and Chicago Symphony Orchestra (April 20–23); season-long artistic residencies with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Radio France; tours with the Orchestre National de France (Nov 24–30) and London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (March 8–15); and the release of Deutsche Grammophon’s deluxe new Blu-Ray edition of the Grammy-winner’s best-selling double album Bach: The Art of Life (Nov 4).

Concerto collaborations in NYC, DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit and more

It was with the Philadelphia Orchestra and music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin that Trifonov recorded a three-volume Rachmaninov series for Deutsche Grammophon, for which he received two Grammy nominations and BBC Music’s Concerto Recording of the Year award. He went on to win a Grammy Award for his solo Liszt album, Transcendental, of which Gramophone marvels:

“Trifonov’s is the best kind of virtuoso playing, where one is hardly aware of the notes being played, allowing one to simply bask in the genius of Liszt’s musical narrative and the transcendent execution of an awesomely gifted pianist.”

Both projects come to mind this month, when the pianist helps launch the seasons of two of the nation’s most venerable classical institutions. Having impressed the Washington Post with his “sensually thrilling, flawless piano playing” of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, he reprises the work for the National Symphony Orchestra’s Opening Night Gala at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, under the baton of music director Gianandrea Noseda (Sep 24). Then, just days later, Trifonov reunites with Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra for Liszt’s First Piano Concerto, first for the Opening Night Gala of New York’s Carnegie Hall (Sep 29), and then for three subsequent performances at the orchestra’s Kimmel Center home (Sep 30–Oct 2).

These season-opening events kick off a full 2022-23 lineup of prominent North American concerto collaborations for the pianist. As a favored guest of the New York Philharmonic, where he served a multi-faceted, season-long tenure as 2019-20 Artist-in-Residence, he returns to the orchestra later this fall for performances of Bartók’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion with his former teacher and frequent piano partner, Sergei Babayan – a pianist of “unequaled touch, perfectly harmonious phrasing, and breathtaking virtuosity” (Le Figaro, France) – under the direction of Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu (Nov 16–19). The two pianists also rejoin Lintu later this season to play the same work with the Montreal Symphony (May 23 & 24).

Trifonov reunites with Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra for both Scriabin’s Piano Concerto (April 14) and Prokofiev’s Second, which is the vehicle for their concerts at the Kennedy Center (April 13 & 15) and Carnegie Hall (April 18). He then returns to Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, where his most recent appearance was hailed as “a monumental performance, by any measure” (Chicago Tribune), to give three accounts of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and French conductor Fabien Gabel (April 20–23). To complete his North American orchestral lineup, Trifonov joins both the Detroit Symphony under Jader Bignamini (Nov 3–5) and the New Jersey Symphony under Xian Zhang (Jan 6–8) for Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto. It was his performance last year of the same composer’s First that the Boston Globe described as:

“… fiercely committed from the very start of the incisive and deeply felt opening movement … all the way through the finale, which surged with both coruscatingly brilliant virtuosity and a more raw variety of primal energy.”

Solo recital tour and chamber collaborations

In solo recital, Trifonov has few equals. After a recent sold-out recital at Carnegie Hall, the New York Times hailed him as “one of the most awesome pianists of our time,” and the Classical Post declared:

“It’s hard to imagine a pianist’s performance that is so utterly polished, yet spontaneous and endlessly imaginative. … Trifonov’s performance at Carnegie Hall wasn’t just solid, it wasn’t just excellent. It was a performance of legends.”

For this season’s extensive tour lineup, the pianist has put together a new program that juxtaposes the simplicity and charm of Tchaikovsky’s Children’s Album with four virtuosic works: Mozart’s C-major Fantasia, Schumann’s Fantasie in C, Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit and Scriabin’s Fifth Piano Sonata. Besides touring it to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal, he performs this program at a series of North American engagements in Seattle (Nov 8), La Jolla (Nov 10), Costa Mesa (Nov 11), San Francisco (Nov 13), Toronto (Dec 2), Baltimore (Dec 4) and at New York’s Carnegie Hall (Nov 7), where in 2017-18 he became the youngest artist to curate a “Perspectives” series.

Trifonov returns to the storied venue early next year, making his fourth and final Carnegie Hall appearance of the season in company with superstar violinist Joshua Bell (Feb 28). Their program of violin sonatas – Beethoven’s Op. 12, No. 1, Franck’s in A-major, and Prokofiev’s brooding No. 1 – also takes the pair to Chicago’s Symphony Center (March 2) and Boston’s Celebrity Series (April 4).

Finally, marking the ensemble’s New York trio debut, next spring the pianist joins violinist Stefan Jackiw and cellist Alisa Weilerstein for an evening of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Lutoslawski at New York’s 92nd Street Y (May 20).

New deluxe edition of Bach: The Art of Life from DG

Last fall saw the release of Trifonov’s Bach: The Art of Life by Deutsche Grammophon. Featuring Bach’s masterpiece The Art of the Fugue, as completed by the pianist himself, alongside selections from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, works by four of the composer’s sons, and two Bach family favorites, the best-selling double album met with widespread critical acclaim. As BBC Music magazine wrote, “This recording is a revelation. … Trifonov’s approach seems effortless, at once incisive and tender, purveying pure pleasure from start to finish.” Now November 4 brings the release of a new deluxe edition of Bach: The Art of Life, complete with Blu-Ray video of the pianist’s livestreamed recital of the same repertoire in Berlin last fall.

Artistic residencies in Rotterdam and Paris, plus other European highlights

The pianist remains no less active in Europe this season. As 2022-23 Artist-in-Residence of the Netherlands’ Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, he headlines five programs, highlighted by the Dutch premiere of Mason Bates’s Piano Concerto (Oct 14 & 15) and performances of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto (Jan 12–15) and Gershwin’s Concerto in F (June 9 & 11). Similarly, in a season-long residency with Radio France, he makes multiple appearances at the Maison de la Radio France in Paris. Two of these are with Cristian Macelaru and the Orchestre National de France, with whom Trifonov performs Scriabin’s Piano Concerto in Paris and Germany (Nov 24–30), before returning to Radio France with the same forces for Brahms’s First next spring (March 23). The residency also takes the pianist to Paris for Beethoven’s First with Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Jan 27) and for an all-Rachmaninov recital with Sergei Babayan (March 21), during the pianists’ upcoming European recital tour (March 19–May 3). This follows on the heels of Trifonov’s collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Karina Canellakis, with whom he performs Prokofiev’s Third at London’s Royal Festival Hall and on tour in Germany (March 8–15).

To download high-resolution photos, click here.

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Daniil Trifonov: selected 2022-23 engagements

Sep 24
Washington, DC
Kennedy Center
National Symphony Orchestra / Gianandrea Noseda
NSO Opening Night
RACHMANINOV: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Sep 29–Oct 2: concerts with Philadelphia Orchestra / Yannick Nézet-Séguin
   Sep 29: New York, NY (Carnegie Hall; Opening Night)
   Sep 30–Oct 2: Philadelphia, PA
LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1

Oct 14 & 15: concerts with Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / André de Ridder
   Oct 14: Rotterdam, Netherlands
   Oct 15: Utrecht, Netherlands
Mason BATES: Piano Concerto (Dutch premiere)

Nov 3–5
Detroit, MI
Detroit Symphony Orchestra / Jader Bignamini
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2

Nov 8–Dec 7: North American solo recital tour
   Nov 8: Seattle, WA
   Nov 10: La Jolla, CA
   Nov 11: Costa Mesa, CA
   Nov 13: San Francisco, CA
   Dec 2: Toronto, ON
   Dec 4: Baltimore, MD
   Dec 7: New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Children’s Album
SCHUMANN: Fantasie in C
MOZART: Fantasia in C minor
RAVEL: Gaspard de la nuit
SCRIABIN: Piano Sonata No. 5

Nov 16–19
New York, NY
New York Philharmonic / Hannu Lintu
BARTÓK: Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion (with Sergei Babayan, piano)

Nov 24–30: concert & tour with Orchestre National de France / Cristian Macelaru
   Nov 24: Paris, France
   Nov 26: Cologne, Germany
   Nov 27: Munich, Germany
   Nov 29: Hamburg, Germany
   Nov 30: Berlin, Germany
SCRIABIN: Piano Concerto

Jan 6–8: concerts with New Jersey Symphony Orchestra / Xian Zhang
   Jan 6: Princeton, NJ
   Jan 7: Newark, NJ
   Jan 8: Morristown, NJ
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2

Jan 12, 13 & 15
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / Lahav Shani
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 1

Jan 27 & 28: concerts with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France / Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla
   Jan 27: Paris, France
   Jan 28: Dortmund, Germany
BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 1

Feb 28–April 4: recitals with Joshua Bell, violin
   Feb 28: New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
   March 2: Chicago, IL (Symphony Center)
April 4: Boston, MA (Boston Celebrity Series)
BEETHOVEN: Violin Sonata in D, Op. 12, No. 1
PROKOFIEV: Violin Sonata No. 1
FRANCK: Violin Sonata in A

March 8–15: tour with London Philharmonic Orchestra / Karina Canellakis
   March 8 & 9: Munich, Germany
   March 11: Frankfurt, Germany
   March 12: Cologne, Germany
   March 13: Hamburg, Germany
   March 15: London, England
PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 3

March 19–May 3: recital tour with Sergei Babayan, piano
   March 19: Amsterdam, Netherlands
   March 20: Luxembourg
   March 21: Paris, France
   April 30: Brussels, Belgium
   May 3: Vienna, Austria
RACHMANINOV: Suite No. 1 in G minor, Op. 5
RACHMANINOV: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
RACHMANINOV: Suite No. 2, Op. 17

March 23
Paris, France
Orchestre National de France / Cristian Macelaru
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 1

April 13–18: concerts with National Symphony Orchestra / Gianandrea Noseda
   April 13–15: Washington, DC (Kennedy Center)
April 18: New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)
PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 2 (April 13, 15 & 18)
SCRIABIN: Piano Concerto (April 14 only)

April 20, 22 &23
Chicago, IL
Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Fabien Gabel
RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 3

May 20
New York, NY
92NY
LUTOSLAWSKI: Partita
RACHMANINOV: Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Trio in A minor
(with Stefan Jackiw, violin; Alisa Weilerstein, cello)

May 23 & 24
Montreal, Canada
Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) / Hannu Lintu
BARTÓK: Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion (with Sergei Babayan, piano)

June 9 & 11
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra / Lahav Shani
GERSHWIN: Concerto in F# # #

© 21C Media Group, September 2022