Guest
Trifonov’s existential Prokofiev with National Symphony transcends time, genre. By George Grella. New York Classical Review. Pianist Daniil Trifono performed in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Stravinsky’s Firebird. Trifonov was incredible, delivering the finest and most thrilling pianism many in the audience are likely to ever hear. The one-word elevator pitch for the program was “character.” This was music full of personality—the exoticism of early Stravinsky is well known, and it was complemented by Walker’s rich lyricism and Prokofiev’s alternating sardonic coolness and bracing violence. This music demanded equal character from the musicians, and the orchestra mostly, but not always, delivered. The performance of Walter’s one-movement symphony, subtitled “Strands,” was terrific. The music has weight to it far out of proportion to its relative brevity, with constantly shifting inner textures and a harmonic motion that is expansive but never fully rests on either consonance o
