Daniil Trifonov’s Summer Highlights Include Israel Philharmonic Tour, Edinburgh, Verbier, and Lucerne Festivals

Daniil Trifonov launches the summer with an eight-concert tour of Israel,joining Kent Nagano and the Israel Philharmonic to perform the First Piano Concertos of Liszt and Tchaikovsky in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa (June 23–30). He then returns to Europe for a trio of major festival appearances, giving solo recitals at both the Edinburgh International Festival (Aug 30) and the Verbier Festival (July 20), where he also joins Yuri Temirkanov for Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (July 24). Trifonov concludes the summer with the Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev at the Lucerne Festival, reprising Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (Aug 31), in which, in spring concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra, he proved himself “an artist of breathtaking poise and theatricality” (The Times, UK).

The Russian pianist – a first prize-winner at both the Tchaikovsky and Rubinstein competitions – routinely draws comparisons with Liszt, in whose music The Independent (UK) reports that his “lyricism had a visionary quality, and the fury was conveyed with a light and steely touch.” The great Romantic virtuoso’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is the vehicle for five of Trifonov’s upcoming performances with the Israel Philharmonic (Tel Aviv, June 23, 24 & 28; Haifa, June 25; Jerusalem, June 29). Trifonov also collaborates with the orchestra on Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (Jerusalem, June 27; Tel Aviv, June 30), in which his “combination of delicacy and fire leaves an indelible impression” (The Observer, UK), besides joining members of the Philharmonic for Dvorák’s Second Piano Quintet (Tel Aviv, June 28).

At last year’s Edinburgh Festival, the UK’s Telegraph pronounced Trifonov’s season-opening performance a “real revelation.” This summer, the pianist returns to the Scottish capital to bring the Queen’s Hall concert series to a close with a solo recital comprising Stravinsky’s Serenade in A, Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes, and selections from Ravel’s Miroirs (Aug 30). Trifonov presents similar solo recitals at Russia’s Platonov Festival and the Estivales de musique en Médoc in France. While at Switzerland’s Verbier Festival – as in Poland and La Roque, France – his program pairs the Stravinsky Serenade with Tchaikovsky’s Theme and Variations, Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Chopin, and Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes (July 20). The pianist’s recital skills may also be heard on Trifonov: The Carnegie Recital, which marked his first CD as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist. Capturing his “triumphant [Carnegie Hall] debut, in which the then-21-year-old demonstrated his uncommon technical gifts and poetic sensibility” (New York Times), the album has already generated considerable Grammy buzz.

For his second appearance at the Swiss festival, Trifonov joins the Verbier Festival Orchestra under Yuri Temirkanov’s direction for an account of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto (July 24). The Russian pianist looks forward to recording his compatriot’s complete orchestral piano works for Deutsche Grammophon, and has already made something of a specialty of them, prompting the San Diego Union-Tribune to marvel: “It was as if he was plugged into Rachmaninoff’s psyche. … His flawless technique was astonishing, yet every note was tied to some musical impulse.”

Trifonov joins Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, with whom he previously collaborated on his Tchaikovsky recording, to perform Prokofiev’s formidably virtuosic Third Piano Concerto at Germany’s Baden-Baden Festspielhaus (July 6). He reunites with Gergiev and the orchestra at Switzerland’s Lucerne Festival, drawing the summer to a glorious close with an account of Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto (Aug 31), in which, the London Times reports,

“His performance…dealt in small miracles that made up a thrilling bigger picture. The Mozartian elegance of the first movement flowered into a gorgeous tapestry of light and shade, tension and release. Above all, Trifonov tapped into Chopin’s sense of freedom at the piano, and his joy in its potential.”

Next season, Trifonov looks forward to a full schedule of American engagements, including a nine-stop duo recital tour with Gidon Kremer, wrapping up at Carnegie Hall. He also plays Tchaikovsky for his Seattle Symphony debut, Rachmaninoff for his Dallas and Toronto Symphony debuts, and enjoys return engagements with the New York Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Washington, DC.

Further details of Daniil Trifonov’s upcoming engagements are provided below, and more information is available at the artist’s web site: daniiltrifonov.com.

Daniil Trifonov: summer engagements

June 10

Voronezh, Russia

Platonov Festival

Stravinsky: Serenade in A

Debussy: Selections from Images Book I

Ravel: Selections from Miroirs

Schumann: Symphonic Etudes Op. 13, including Opus Posthumous No. 1, 4, and 5

June 23 & 24

Tel Aviv, Israel

Heichal Hatarbut

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Kent Nagano

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

June 25

Haifa, Israel

Haifa Auditorium

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Kent Nagano

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

June 27

Jerusalem, Israel

Jerusalem Theatre

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Kent Nagano

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

June 28 (4pm)

Tel Aviv, Israel

Museum of ART

Dvorak: Piano Quintet No. 2 in A, Op. 81 (with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra String Quartet)

June 28 (7:30pm)

Tel Aviv, Israel

Heichal Hatarbut

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Kent Nagano

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

June 29

Jerusalem, Israel

International Convention Center

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Kent Nagano

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1

June 30

Tel Aviv, Israel

Heichal Hatarbut

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Kent Nagano

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

July 4

Pauillac, France

Château Batailley – Estivales de musique en Médoc

Stravinsky: Serenade in A

Debussy: Selections from Images, Book I

Ravel: Selections from Miroirs

Liszt: Transcendental Études, S. 139

July 6

Baden-Baden, Germany

Festspielhaus

Mariinsky Orchestra / Valery Gergiev

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3

July 10

Yekaterinburg, Russia

Philharmonic Hall

Yekaterinburg International Academy Youth Philharmonic Orchestra / Oleg Caetani

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1

July 20

Verbier, Switzerland

Salle des Combins

Stravinsky: Serenade in A

Tchaikovsky: Theme and Variations Op. 19

Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme by Chopin Op. 22

Schumann: Symphonic Etudes Op. 13, incl. Op. Posth. Nos. 1, 4, & 5

July 24

Verbier Switzerland

Salle des Combins

Verbier Festival Orchestra / Yuri Temirkanov

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3

Aug 1

Schloss Johannisberg, Germany

Fürst-von-Metternich- Saal

Debussy: Selections from Images, Book I

Chopin: Preludes Op. 28

Schumann: Symphonic Etudes Op. 13, incl. Op. Posth. Nos. 1, 4, & 5

Aug 3

Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland

Stravinsky: Serenade in A

Tchaikovsky: Theme and Variations Op. 19

Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme by Chopin Op. 22

Schumann: Symphonic Etudes Op. 13, incl. Op. Posth. Nos. 1, 4, & 5

Aug 6

La Roque, France

Stravinsky: Serenade in A

Tchaikovsky: Theme and Variations Op. 19

Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme by Chopin Op. 22

Schumann: Symphonic Etudes Op. 13, incl. Op. Posth. Nos. 1, 4, & 5

Aug 30

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh Festival (Queen’s Hall)

Stravinsky: Serenade in A

Ravel: Selections from Miroirs

Liszt: Transcendental Études, S. 139

Aug 31

Lucerne, Switzerland

Lucerne Festival

Mariinsky Orchestra / Valery Gergiev

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2