Daniil Trifonov - Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Barcarolle (2011)

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.