Rachmaninoff for Two

Daniil Trifonov, Sergei Babayan

Released on 3/29/24 by Deutsche Grammophon (DG)
Main artists: Daniil Trifonov Sergei Babayan
Genre: Classical

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First noticed by Martha Argerich who had “never heard anything like it,” Daniil Trifonov had already proven himself to be one of the greatest ever interpreters of Rachmaninoff upon releasing his peerless album for Deutsche Grammophon of the composer’s complete concertos, backed by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He’s returned under the same yellow label with an astounding recital, this time dedicated to the Russian composer’s works for two pianos. He appears alongside Armenian-American pianist Sergei Babayan, his former professor at the Cleveland Institute. Daniil Trifonov and his mentor present us with a symphonic piano program in full color, overcoming each technical difficulty somewhat nonchalantly. It all starts with Daniil Trifonov’s very own nimble transcription of the very melancholic adagio from Symphony No.2. This serves as an appetizer to the mighty Suite No.2 for two pianos, a flamboyant and almost self-satirizing masterpiece for which Rachmaninoff used elements from an unfinished concerto, and which ends in a joyful, yet terribly difficult, tarantella. In his youth, Rachmaninoff had already given two-piano writing a stab with his Suite No. 1, often called Fantaisie-Tableaux. Over the course of the piece’s four movements, he slowly finds his own style, in spite of their undeniably Lisztian influence. This album reaches a triumphant climax with Rachmaninoff’s final works: his infamous Symphonic Dances, a tryptic intended to depict the three phases of life, written for Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra when the composer was already ill. Rachmaninoff also made a two-piano version dedicated to Vladimir Horowitz, which these two exceptional pianists play brilliantly. They know how to draw upon all of its force and profound melancholy with incredible subtlety and an enchanting sense of color. © François Hudry/Qobuz

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Rachmaninoff for Two

Daniil Trifonov

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Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27 (Serge Rachmaninoff)

III. Adagio (Transcr. Trifonov for 2 Pianos)

00:10:52

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Composer - Christoph Stickel, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Daniil Trifonov, Contributor, Piano, Transcription, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Sergei Babayan, Piano, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Georg Burdicek, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bernhard Guettler, Producer, Mixer, Editor, Recording Producer, StudioPersonnel - Kristaps Andris Austers, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel