Arts & Events

Daniil Trifonov Excels in Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto

Reviewed by James Roy MacBean
Sunday June 24, 2018 - 01:41:00 PM

This weekend, June 21-24, Pianist Daniil Trifonov appeared in his final of three performances this season with the San Francisco Symphony. Trifonov’s three-part series was well planned. He opened back in October with a solo program of music by Chopin and those inspired by Chopin, followed by a February program of four-hand piano works in which Trifonov teamed up with his mentor Sergei Babayan; and, now, Trifonov tackles Rachmaninoff’s demanding Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. Showing off three different aspects of this multi-talented young musician, this series clearly demonstrates why Daniil Trifonov has been hailed as the leading pianist of the new generation. Trifonov is simply amazing. His technique is astounding, and his sensitivity is acute. Moreover, Trifonov plays with such intensity that at times he seems a man possessed!  

Take, for instance, Trifonov’s performance Friday evening of the “big” cadenza Rachmaninoff wrote for the first movement of his 3rd Piano Concerto. In the heavily percussive moments of this cadenza, Trifonov’s head snapped back repeatedly, his hair went flying, and he played for all the world like a man with his hair on fire. (This is the “demonic” quality in Trifonov appreciatively noted by Martha Argerich when she first heard him at Carnegie hall.) Yet all the while Trifonov was in complete control of Rachmaninoff’s difficult and demanding music. The results were electrifying. Moreover, Trifonov also excelled in the more lyrical and melodic moments of this great concerto. He tenderly caressed the first movement’s lovely opening minor-key tune, and he did likewise with the second theme.  

In the expanded Intermezzo that forms the second movement, Trifonov and the orchestra traded melodies with finesse and charm. The woodwinds and strings opened this movement, and the soloist got a respite. Soon, however, Trifonov entered abruptly, sending the music off into distant harmonic regions. Soloist and orchestra then collaborated in working out the first theme. Clarinet, bassoon and strings then introduced the second theme, a waltz that bears some resemblance to this concerto’s opening theme. Trifonov then embarked on mini-solos packed with vigorous passage-work. When the orchestra re-entered, Trifonov got only his second true moment of rest in this strenuously demanding concerto.  

In the finale, Trifonov signaled the first theme with a figure in triplets in the third measure. The second theme is introduced by energetic chords in the orchestra, followed by densely packed chords from Trifonov against drumming strings. There follows a beautiful melody for piano, exquisitely played by Trifonov. Then the concerto’s opening melody makes a reappearance in violas and cellos. A pianissimo phrase from Trifonov leads to a vigorous recapitulation of the two ideas of the finale.  

At the close of Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto, Daniil Trifonov drew tumultuous applause from the admiring audience, as did conductor Michael Tilson Thomas. As an encore, Trifonov performed a lilting, introspective rendering of Robert Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood. 

The first half of the program was devoted to the final two symphonies of Jean Sibelius. Symphony No. 6 has been styled as Sibelius’s “Pastorale Symphony.” It is cloudless and continuously optimistic, unlike the early symphonies of this composer. Although it has the traditional four movements, there is no slow movement. It opens with strings wending their way as if through a forest glen. In the second movement one hears the chirping of flutes. The third movement begins with a striding rhythm that is slightly uneven. Cheerful throughout, the 6th Symphony ends by simply fading away on a peaceful note. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas led the orchestra in a convincing rendition of this unusual work. 

Sibelius’s 7th Symphony contains no movements at all but simply unfolds for 22 minutes in one long continuous flow. It begins with an air of mystery: a rumbling in the kettledrums brings an ascending figure in the strings. A second subject appears in divided strings. Then a hymn-like solo by trombone leads to a quickening of pace. Now a scherzo-like section develops. Then the slow tempo of the opening returns plus a repeat of the trombone’s hymn, which is restated emphatically by the full brass section. Winds then offer a fanfare-like subject, and a certain climax ensues. The strings then offer a sweeping emotional theme before the flute and bassoon enter with a last poignant reflection. There ensues a forceful crescendo and a dramatic finish.  

Rarely heard, Sibelius’s 6th and 7th Symphonies were given excellent readings by MTT and the San Francisco Symphony. This is unusual music, to be sure, but it is surprisingly accessible and approachable music, especially when given in such dedicated performances as these.