Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Trifonov / Philharmonia / Temirkanov)

16th April, 2015
Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh" Overture
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 1
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 8

Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Philharmonia Orchestra
Yuri Temirkanov (conductor)



You've got to admit, there is a very good reason why Rachmaninov's "Piano Concerto No. 1" is not played very often - it is pretty linear, mono-layer and honestly uninteresting with little delectable melodies and the orchestra doing bare minimum. The coughs, snores (yes, snores) and fangirl screamings from the audience tonight made better polyphony and rhythmic vitality than the music. It takes a certain Daniil Trifonov (the gentleman next to me - born 1991 according to Wikipedia in case you wonder) to make firework out of the piece to make it just about enjoyable. You can easily see why he is the hottest pianist on the planet today that even Martha Argerich gives him the highest praises. He belongs to the proud Russian lineage of pianists like Gilels and Richter who can make drama out of absolute nothing, and he practically turned the concerto into his own personal playground. It wasn't just the techniques that was impressive. He is capable of drawing out so many different shades and colours on the piano that he singlehandedly put the orcherstra to shame. The firm basses, the delicate inner voicings, the crisp melodic shapings, that enormous wall of sound from the first movement cadenza, the drama, the introspective delicacy, you name it. That alone was worth the time. The second half was Dvořák 8 conducted by Yuri Temirkanov (Philharmonia). I thought it was a dreadful performance, but the audience seemed to like it a lot. It was the most dreary performance of the "Symphony" I have ever heard. The tempi of the piece inconsistent and all over the place, the balance of the orchestra questionable with random brasses sticking out like sore thumbs, and overall the orchestra sounded totally uninterested. The conductor took so much effort to punch out every note in certain phrases to emphasise the contrapunctal writings and it was painful to hear. I saw Norman Lebrecht in the audience. I wonder what he will say tomorrow.



This entry was originally published in my private Instagram account.