Arts & Events

Pianist Daniil Trifonov returned to Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall on Thursday, April 28 under the auspices of Cal Performances for a solo recital of relatively unfamiliar works. The results, as always with Daniil Trifonov, were electrifying. Speaking of Trifonov after hearing his first Carnegie Hall recital, fellow pianist Martha Argerich said, “I never heard anything like this. His technique is impeccable and he has an element of the demonic.” That pretty much sums it up. 

At his Zellerbach recital, Trifonov’s impeccable technique and the demonic element were both very much on display. I once wrote of Daniil Trifonov that “he plays like a man with his hair on fire.” He often sits hunched forward over the keyboard while playing softer passages, then abruptly bolts upright on strong, hammered notes, and this violent movement sends his long, stringy hair flying. Such mood swings were evident throughout this recital’s opening work, Sonata No. 3, Op. 36 (1917) by Polish composer Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937). After a dramatic introduction, the first movement’s second theme is a melodic one replete with scales and dotted rhythms. There follows an Andante that begins and closes in a pensive mood while its central section is impassioned and intensely expressive. Next comes a very brief Scherzo, followed by a finale that is fugal and flamboyantly dramatic. Playing without a score, as he did throughout this recital, Daniil Trifonov gave a thoroughly riveting account of this angular, dramatic sonata by Szymanowski. 

Next on the program was the suite entitled Pour le piano by Claude Debussy. This work, written in 1894 and revised in 1901, features all the clarity of form and exposition that Debussy treasured in French music. Written in homage to the French Baroque composers Jean-Philippe Rameau and François Couperin, Debussy nonetheless imbued this elegant suite with his own distinctive harmonies and colourations. The opening Prélude evokes the gongs of Javanese gamelan music that so impressed Debussy at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. The second movement, a lovely Sarabande, is elegant with parallel harmonies. The closing Toccata is a tribute to the showpiece Toccatas of French Baroque keyboard music, replete with melody, harmony, rhythm, counterpoint, and Debussy’s distinctive colorings. Coming after the thunderous agitations of Szymanowski’s Sonata No. 3, Daniil Trifonov’s reading of this Debussy suite was a welcome haven of calm and rigorous architectural form, 

The final work in the first half of this recital was Serge Prokofiev’s suite entitled Sarcasms. 

This is an early piece by Prokofiev, and it stunned the audience at its premiere in 1914. “Some people held their head in their hands,” wrote Prokofiev, “some in order to plug their ears, others to express their excitement, and still more out of pity for the poor, once-promising composer.” The title is apt, for this work is full of sarcasm as Prokofiev mischievously pokes fun at music’s conventions. Mood swings are omnipresent here. At one minute the piano offers a lovely lyrical passage, then abruptly embarks on a thunderous outburst, and so on. One movement is marked Smamioso, which means very agitated, or, alternatively, raging and raving. The final movement is marked Precipitosissimo or extremely fast. Often playing with eyes half-closed or head thrown back and staring into space, Daniil Trifonov imbued this work by Prokofiev with an engaging mixture of seriousness and mischievous humour. 

After intermission, the second half of the program was given over to Sonata No. 3 in F minor (1853) by Johannes Brahms. The opening movement, marked Allegro maestoso, includes a repeated three-note motive that recalls the famous opening three notes of Beethoven 5th Symphony. 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. Brahms next inserted an Intermezzo that took up a theme from the Andante and turned it into a funereal threnody. The work closed with a Finale that was appropriately flamboyant, brilliantly performed here by Daniil Trifonov. 

In response to a standing ovation, Daniil Trifonov played three encores: “Stötzel, Bist du bei mir?” from Bach’s Anna Magdalena Notebooks; Lysenko’s Elegy, Op. 41, No. 3; and Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.