This thoughtfully planned, totally captivating recital opened with a dreamy rendition of the melancholic Taneyev Prelude, Daniil Trifonov then tearing headlong into the fiendish, frenetic Fugue. As he leaned low over the keyboard, his dramatic arm movements and formidable technique unleashed a barrage of rapid-fire passage work and riveting, wide-ranging chords.
After standing and giving the briefest of bows, he launched into Prokofiev’s Visions fugitives (1915-1917), a collection of 20 fleeting musical motifs, the majority. The work’s title was inspired by Russian symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont’s line, ‘I do not know wisdom – leave that to others – I only turn fugitive visions into verse.’ Played straight through, the widely varied, colorful composition – each movement identified by only a tempo or expressive notation – had a restless, strongly improvisatory feel. Unlike the composer’s Piano Sonatas, these concise vignettes – by turns humorous, lyrical, sarcastic, or savagely aggressive – demand more sophistication and subtlety than virtuosity. With his seductive combination of explosive energy and poetic sensitivity, Trifonov vividly conveyed the rapidly changing moods in the kaleidoscopic creation. From the searching sounds of the Lento irrealmente movement, he segued into the slow, forceful opening chords of Nikolai Myaskovsky’s single-movement Second Piano Sonata, a dramatic and powerful work from 1912, conceived as a fantasia on the medieval Dies Irae chant. Displaying meticulous control and a broad dynamic range, he shaped an intimate, emotionally charged account of the dissonant and darkly ominous work.
The second half was taken up by Robert Schumann’s First Piano Sonata. Written when the composer was in his early-20s, it pays homage to his beloved Clara – during a period when her father was trying to keep them apart – by quoting the theme from her ‘Dance of the Phantoms’ and incorporating her musical signature throughout the work. With the same energy and poise he displayed in the Russian works, Trifonov successfully balanced the surging, turbulent passages with moments of aching lyricism. After the brawny boldness of the opening movement, the poetic introspection of theAriasecond was an especially appealing contrast. A high-spirited Scherzo was dispatched with wry humor, while the spacious Finale, performed with panache, brought the recital to a fiery end.
Trifonov offered three charmingly simple encores, all by Tchaikovsky – Mikhail Pletnev’s arrangement of ‘Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf’ from The Sleeping Beauty, followed by ‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Lark Song’, both from the Children’s Album, Op.39.
