Alum’s Performance of His Own Concerto is “Spellbinding”

Pianist and CIM alum Daniil Trifonov (Babayan AC ’13, AD ’15) has taken the classical music world by storm or, as The New York Times put it in a review of his Carnegie Hall performance earlier this year, “he has become a phenomenon in the field.”  Trifonov finished up his degree at CIM in 2015 and for his grand finale he performed a concerto that he wrote for CIM’s composer/virtuoso program. Trifonov performed this same piece to kick off the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s concert season to great acclaim.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette commented on both the greatness of the piece and his performance of it. “At 24, he is one of the hottest pianists in the world, and his dazzling technique is aurally and visually impressive,” the reviewer commented. “But he composes, too….The virtuosic, three-movement concerto, Mr. Trifonov’s first large-scale symphonic work, demonstrates his potential as a composer.”

Trifonov has been making headlines lately not just for his performances but for his newly released album Rachmaninov: Variations. The Guardian mentioned that the disc is “a joyous, exceptional collection,” also commenting that Trifonov is an “outstanding pianist who plays Rachmaninov because he is fascinated by the music and can bring genuine imagination and musical wit to it.”

Read the review of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert here and get The Guardian’s review of his latest album here.