* Many thanks to Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen / bremen.online for the complementary tickets! The opinions shared here are solely my own. *
Wow, last week was something of a doozy at work, with four *very important* deadlines. But somehow everything came together rather successfully, and I was able to celebrate with a piano concert at Die Glocke as part of the 27th annual Musikfest Bremen (remember the concert I saw last year?). But it wasn’t just any Klavierabend — it was a performance given by Daniil Trifonov, the Russian piano genius who is younger than the Musikfest itself. I saw Trifonov when he was in Bremen not too long ago touring with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and I jumped at the chance to see him play a full-length concert as a soloist.
He started by playing Bach’s Chaconne aus der Parita d-Moll für Violine solo BMV 1004, reworked by Brahms to be played on the piano with the left hand. Wow. Sounds silly to say, but it really can’t be easy to play such a piece with only one hand and still have the music sound full and round. He went on to play Schubert’s Klaviersonate Nr. 18 G-Dur op. 78 D 894, which garnered much applause and loud Bravos from the audience. His Variationen über ein Thema von Paganini op. 35 (Heft 1) by Brahms was equally impressive.
But it wasn’t until after the intermission with Rachmaninow’s Sonate Nr. 1 d-Moll op. 28 that Trifonov really came alive. Quite suddenly he was living and breathing the piece, throwing his whole body and soul into the music. It was really a sight to see (and hear!), leaving my head spinning. Quite honestly, it was one of the best piano performances I’ve ever seen! The rest of the sold-out audience was just as enamored as I was, encouraging Trifonov on to three encores.
I loved every minute! And although Trifonov must have been exhausted, by the time we made our way down to the lobby, he was already seated and graciously signing cd’s and taking photos with a long line of fans.
The Musikfest Bremen continues on until September 10th, and features all sorts of music — jazz, classical, experimental — so make sure you don’t miss out!
Are you a fan of classical concerts? Which concert would you choose if you were going to the Musikfest Bremen?