Sarasota Concert Association presents
Sergei Babayan & Daniil Trifonov
Piano Duo
March 30 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
The SCA closes out its 72nd Great Performers Series season with a concert featuring young piano sensation Daniil Trifonov and his longtime mentor Sergei Babayan.
“Few artists have burst onto the classical music scene in recent years with the incandescence of the pianist Daniil Trifonov.” (The New York Times)
“Everywhere Trifonov goes, the story is pretty much the same with audiences and critics— he’s a sensation. He is an astonishing pianist.” (Los Angeles Times)
“Babayan is a virtuoso whose golden touch left us in bliss. He is, without a doubt, one of the best musicians of our time.” − L’Actualité
(Sarasota, Florida) The Sarasota Concert Association (SCA) concludes its 72nd Great Performers Series’ season with the piano duo of Sergei Babayan, and his student, 26-year-old sensation, Daniil Trifonov, Thursday, March 30, 7:30 p.m., at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. The program includes Schumann’s Andante and Variations for Two Pianos, Schubert’s Fantasie in F Minor, selections from Brahms’ Hungarian Dances and Rachmaninoff’s Two Suites for Two Pianos. Single tickets are $37-$65. Students admitted free with ID; accompanying adults $25. Tickets and information for the Great Performers Series are available by calling 941-225-6500 or online at www.scasarasota.org.
Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov has made a spectacular ascent in the world of classical music since winning First Prize at both the Tchaikovsky and Rubinstein competitions in 2011 at the age of 20. Combining consummate technique with rare sensitivity and depth, his performances are a perpetual source of awe with audience and critics. “Everywhere Trifonov goes, the story is pretty much the same with audiences and critics — he’s a sensation. Daniil Trifonov is an astonishing pianist,” wrote Mark Swed for the Los Angeles Times. Trifonov’s Carnegie Hall recital last December was hailed by The New York Classical Review as a “historic moment in the 20th century record of classical music performances.” In addition to his rigorous solo performance schedule, Trifonov recently teamed up with his longtime mentor, the Armenian-American virtuoso Sergei Babayan, for a program of two-piano music.
Sergei Babayan has been hailed for his emotional intensity, bold energy and remarkable levels of color. He brings a deep understanding and insight to a stylistically diverse repertoire. Le Figaro has praised his “unequaled touch, perfectly harmonious phrasing and breathtaking virtuosity.” Babayan was one of the first Soviet pianists to emerge after the fall of the Iron Curtain, with his arrival in the West causing a sensation across the music world. Two and a half decades later, he is still hailed as a musician’s musician. “Babayan is no mere pianist,” The Scotsman declared. “He is a master-musician for whom the piano is his voice, his orchestra.”
“Daniil Trifonov has been setting the classical music world ablaze with one acclaimed performance after another,” says Joy McIntyre, president of the Sarasota Concert Association. “We’re thrilled to close out our season with a performance by this exceptional young virtuoso and his renowned longtime mentor.”
SCA also presents a series of free daytime concerts that include performances by high-caliber, area-based artists, continuing through April 2017. The Music Matinee Series is designed to offer a variety of musical genres, including classical, folk, and jazz, featuring both vocal and instrumental performers. For more information about the 2016-2017 Music Matinee Series, visit www.scasarasota.org.
About the Sarasota Concert Association
The Sarasota Concert Association (SCA) is a nonprofit organization that fosters greater appreciation for world-class classical music by offering the community two engaging programs from November to April. The Great Performers Series, in its 72nd season, brings world-renowned orchestras and chamber groups to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and the Riverview Performing Arts Center. The Music Matinee Series features outstanding regional artists in free community concerts at Beatrice Friedman Symphony Hall and other venues. For more information about SCA, visit www.scasarasota.org.
