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I recently heard Daniil Trifonov perform Rachmaninoff at Walt Disney Concert Hall and was curious about his new 2-CD release of Liszt’s complete Etudes D’ Execution Transcendante, Concert Etudes, S 144/S 145 and Grandes Etudes De Paganini – the triathlon of keyboard pieces. Notable recordings of these works include Claudio Arrau, Jorge Bolet and Leslie Howard, but there is always room for more, and this is it. Trifonov’s interpretation is revelatory for its stylish use of textural effects, jeu perle technique and pedaling that bring gymnastic wizardry and high-end aesthetics to the violin-based Paganini caprices - particularly “La campanella,” “La Chasse” and “Tema con variazioni.”
The pristine fluidity and pacing he gives to every phrase and harmonic twist in familiar works such as “La leggierezza,” and “Un sospiro” is breathtaking.
In his hands, Transcendental Etudes becomes a dialogue between the demonic and ethereal sides of nature that transform ferocious and shimmering passagework into cascades of tremolos (“Chasse-neige”), over drive octaves (“Erocia”), unrelenting velocity (“Mazeppa” – compare with Gyorgy Cziffra’s fiery account), nuanced sonorities (“Harmonies du soir”), leggerissimo fingerwork (“Feux follets”) and harmonic overtones (“Ricordanza”). Trifonov is a phenomenon, at only twenty-five!