Chopin Evocations: Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2; Variations on ‘La ci darem la mano’; Rondo for 2 Pianos in C; Fantaisie-Impromptu; music by Schumann, Grieg, Barber, Tchaikovsky and Mompou —Daniil Trifonov, piano; Sergei Babayan, piano; Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Mikhail Pletnev (DeutGram 4797518) [from October 2017]
The New York Times calls him “the young conqueror of the keyboard”. He is Daniil Trifonov and his 2-disc Deutsche Grammophon CD, Chopin Evocations, features world premiere recordings of Mikhail Pletnev’s orchestrations of the Chopin piano concertos. The fascinating recital also contains a range of solo works, from early (Variations on ‘La ci darem la mano’ Op. 2) to late (Fantaisie-Impromptu Op. 66). Complementing the Chopin repertoire on Evocations are pieces paying homage to Chopin, by Mompou, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Barber. Critic and gadfly Norman Lebrecht says: “Nothing on this album is predictable, nothing stale. This is what piano recitals must have sounded like before artists were obliged to listen to agents and producers.”