CHOPIN Piano Concerto No. 1 in F?; Barcarolle; Impromptus: in A?, Op. 29; in F?, Op. 36; Tarantella in A? • Danil Trifonov (pn); Wojciech Rajski, cond; Polish CO Sopot • DUX 0832 (63:30)
It’s too bad that this disc, filled with brilliant, energized, and subtle piano playing should start almost anemically with an impassive statement from the chamber orchestra on the Chopin Piano Concerto. Of course this is a string orchestra, a defensible choice, but I still think the opening should be more emphatic. We see what we were missing the second Danil Trifonov enters, for he is a dynamic pianist, and yet one who plays the delicate pages of this concerto exquisitely without ever losing its forward thrust. There are few recordings of the Romance as beautiful as Trifonov’s, and few of the final Rondo as delightfully playful. The solo works are just as distinguished, including the quicksilver rendition of the Impromptu in A?. Trifonov has all the technique, and all the temperament that he needs, and yet everywhere he seems to be delighting in the music and not in what he can do with it. Some listeners might come to this disc for the novelty of hearing the concerto played by a string orchestra. They should be delighted with the pianist.
