Daniil Trifonov
Born in Nizhniy Novgorod in 1991, Daniil Trifonov is one of the brightest names of the new
generation of pianists. His reputation for outstanding performances, musical insight, and
expressive intensity has already surpassed the attention he received when, during the
2010-2011 season, he won medals at three of the most prestigious competitions in the music
world: the Chopin Competition in Warsaw (Third Prize), the Rubinstein Competition in Tel
Aviv (First Prize), and the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (First Prize and Grand Prix).
Jury members and observers at these competitions included Martha Argerich, Krystian
Zimerman, Van Cliburn, Emanuel Ax, Nelson Freire, Yefim Bronfman, and Valery Gergiev. In
Moscow, Mr. Gergiev personally awarded Mr. Trifonov the Grand Prix, an award given to the
best overall competitor in any of that competition's categories.
Highlights of the 2011-2012 season included debuts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
London Symphony and Mariinsky orchestras with Valery Gergiev, Israel Philharmonic with
Zubin Mehta, and Russian National Orchestra with Mikhail Pletnev, as well as collaborations
with Vladimir Fedoseyev, Pietari Inkinen, Sir Neville Marriner, Diego Matheuz, and Antoni
Wit. He also has given performances at London's Wigmore Hall, Vienna's Musikverein, Paris's
Salle Pleyel, and Tokyo's Suntory Hall, as well as at venues throughout North and South
America.
In the summer of 2012, Mr. Trifonov made his debut at major festivals that included
Verbier, Montreux, Tivoli, Edinburgh, Lockenhaus, Grafenegg, La Roque d'Anthéron, and
Klavier-Festival Ruhr, as well as the Blossom and Ravinia festivals. In the 2012-2013
season, he makes debuts with prestigious international orchestras that include the New York
Philharmonic; the Chicago and Boston symphony orchestras; the Cleveland, Philharmonia, and
Royal Philharmonic orchestras; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; Budapest Festival
Orchestra; and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. In addition, he returns
to the London Symphony and Mariinsky orchestras with Mr. Gergiev, and the Russian National
Orchestra with Mr. Pletnev.
Upcoming engagements include recitals at the Kennedy Center, Celebrity Series of Boston,
Berlin's Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie, Munich's Herkulessaal, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw
(as part of the Master Piano Series), Queen Elizabeth and Wigmore halls in London, Paris's
Auditorium du Louvre, Zurich's Tonhalle, Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Schloss Elmau,
and Seoul Arts Center, among other venues.
Daniil Trifonov began his musical studies at the age of five. From 2000 to 2009, he
studied at the Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow. From 2006 to 2009, he also studied
composition, and since then has written works for piano, as well as chamber and orchestral
music. He has studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music since 2009. In 2008, at the age
of 17, he received awards at the Scriabin Piano Competition in Moscow and at the San Marino
International Piano Competition. He received a Guzik Foundation Career Grant in 2009, which
led to a tour of the US and Italy.
Mr. Trifonov's first CD, featuring a selection of Chopin's works for solo piano, was
released by Decca in 2011. His recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Valery
Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, as well as a selection of solo piano music, was
released on the Mariinsky label in the fall of 2012.