Brahms, Piano Sonata No. 3

Daniil Trifonov @daniiltrifonov Johannes Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 (1953) 00:00 I. Allegro maestoso 08:36 II. Andante espressivo 19:23 III. Scherzo: Allegro energico 24:30 IV. Intermezzo (Rückblick): Andante molto - Trio 28:21 V. Finale: Allegro moderato ma rubato 35:14 Applause Rocca Brancaleone, Ravenna, Italy / June 20, 2021 at 9:30 p.m. The Ravenna Festival @ravennafestival Live broadcast on Ravenna Festival Live Photos by Fabrizio Zani and Daniele Casadio: While I couldn’t find any reviews of Daniil’s Ravenna recital, there are many excellent reviews of his solo recitals, including this colossal work by Brahms, for the 2021-22 season. I’d like to share a few of them with you here. * Tobias Stosiek (Salzburg / Jul. 30): “[...] The way Trifonov mixes the sound, especially in Brahms’ last piano sonata, which one would never have expected to have such impressionistic qualities - it has something of the precision of a molecular chef. And that without the thing losing its drive. Trifonov doesn’t tinker. On the contrary: someone goes all out but retains total control. [...]“ * Janelle Gelfand (Cincinnati / Mar. 1): “[...] The opening bars were magisterial, tackled with arms flung high. The first movement was a blend of drama and lyricism, and Trifonov’s touch in the quieter moments drew you into the music. The second movement, marked “Andante espressivo,” is the heart of the work. [...]“ * Sam Jacobson (Cincinnati / Mar. 1): “[...] I can’t think of too many pieces more sumptuously gorgeous than the slow movement, and there Trifonov’s delicate control, rarely rising above piano, was sublime and made the movement’s eventual climax all the more moving. A Scherzo made for a feisty foil, a bit of lightheartedness in the midst of such a weighty work. The so-called Rückblick served as a haunting reminiscence of the earlier material, and Trifonov took the finale at a stately, measured tempo, an interpretive choice that made the chorale section all the more triumphant. [...]“ * Hedy Weiss (Chicago / Mar. 6): “[...] Trifonov captured all those emotions with grace and clarity, and in a particularly notable passage that almost sounded like a lullaby. Like Brahms, his playing is at once subtle but commanding, suggesting both a probing interior life and the emergence of a triumphal spirit, with constantly changing feelings of lightness, darkness and heat. And Trifonov leaves you with the feeling that he might have written it all himself.[...]“ * Lawrence B. Johnson (Chicago / Mar. 6): “[...] Trifonov’s patient, probing account of the opening movement set the stage for his lyrical embrace of the broadly drawn slow movement. In Brahms’ grand-scaled finale, the pianist indulged the music’s Schubertian elaborations with the sensitivity and comprehension of an artist with a clear grasp of historical line. [...]“ * George Grella (Carnegie Hall / Mar. 3) “[...] It felt as if he worked his way through psychological knots in the first half, and was centered in the second. Still, this was Trifonov; the opening chords in the Allegro maestoso seems to be larger than normal, extending farther into space. The pianist brought out the exalted quality in the music [...]“ * Esther Huang (Berkeley / Apr. 28) “[...] Trifonov propelled Brahms’s “Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5” to spectacular heights, overlaying the first movement’s grand principal subject with the mellifluous poeticism of its honeyed midsection. Harvesting translucent, tinkling textures from the andante, Trifonov’s rolled chords uncoiled into the frenzied, portentously ebullient scherzo. Between its perilously regal themes, a dulcet litany surfaced to soothe the movement’s jolting progression. [...]“ * James Roy MacBean (Berkeley / Apr. 28) “[...] There follows a regal Andante that for me was the highlight of this recital. Playing with eyes closed, Daniil Trifonov made this dreamy music sound absolutely unearthly. Likewise, the following Scherzo was vehement and demonic, yet it also contained a surprisingly calm central Trio. [...]“ #DaniilTrifonov #Brahms #RavennaFestival #brahmspianosonata #steinway #fabbrini