Daniil Trifonov – Chopin Evocations (2017) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

First you think : “here we go… yet agaaaaain another recording of Chopin’s two concertos”, then you read ‘world premiere’ in the description. Surprising, isn’t it? And yet, this is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! This world premiere is describing the brand new orchestrations realised by Mikhail Pletnev. These re-orchestrations give prominence to the much more chamber-like aspect of the accompaniment, which admittedly is a little pale and formulaic in the version that we’ve known for almost two centuries. Pletnev has moderated the music score, thinning out some parts while not changing a single note: the piano part remains the same, and in the orchestra nothing changes apart from the instrumental assignation. In addition to those two concertos that are much more colorful, the pianist Daniil Trifonov offers us a handful of tributes to Chopin by his peers and successors: Schumann, whose admiration for the Polish composer wasn’t reciprocated, Grieg, Barber and Tchaikovsky, and most of all Mompou’s splendid series of Variations on a Theme of Chopin. New from old, but always for the best we won’t hasten to add.

Tracklist

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 2 In F Minor, Op. 21 (Arr. By Mikhail Pletnev)
1 1. Maestoso 15:41
2 2. Larghetto 10:20
3 3. Allegro vivace 08:50
Variations On “La ci darem la mano”, Op. 2
4 Introduction. Largo – Poco piu mosso, common time 05:05
5 Thema. Allegretto 01:34
6 Variation 1. Brillante 00:55
7 Variation 2. Veloce, ma accuratamente 00:56
8 Variation 3. Sempre sostenuto 01:46
9 Variation 4. Con bravura 01:11
10 Variation 5. Adagio 02:07
11 Coda. Alla Polacca 03:30

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Carnaval, Op.9
12 12. Chopin 01:30

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Moods, Op.73
13 5. Étude “Hommage à Chopin” 01:51

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
14 Nocturne, Op. 33 04:10

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
18 Pieces, Op. 72, TH 151
15 15. Un poco di Chopin 02:52

Frédéric Chopin
16 Rondo In C Major, Op.73 08:46
Concerto For Piano And Orchestra No. 1 In E Minor, Op. 11 (Arr. By Mikhail Pletnev)
17 1. Allegro maestoso 21:59
18 2. Romance. Larghetto 11:06
19 3. Rondo. Vivace 09:42
Federico Mompou (1893-1987)
Variations On A Theme By Chopin
20 Theme. Andantino 00:48
21 Variation 1. Tranquillo e molto amabile 01:01
22 Variation 2. Gracioso 00:46
23 Variation 3. Para la mano iquierda. Lento 00:56
24 Variation 4. Espressivo 01:26
25 Variation 5. Tempo di Mazurka 01:02
26 Variation 6. Recitativo 01:36
27Variation 7. Allegro leggiero 00:39
28 Variation 8. Andante dolce e espressivo 02:38
29 Variation 9. Valse 01:48
30 Variation 10. Évocation. Cantabile molto espressivo 03:05
31 Variation 11. Lento dolce e legato 01:30
32 Variation 12. Galope y Epílogo 03:19
33 Fantaisie-Impromptu In C Sharp Minor, Op. 66 05:36