Daniil Trifonov pays homage to music created during a pivotal period in Russian history

Daniil Trifonov’s new album, Silver Age , recorded with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, recalls a time when Russia’s composers, poets, artists, dramatists and star performers were among the most original anywhere in the world. It illustrates the artistic audacity and brilliance of a turbulent era in the country’s history with works by three of its most pioneering composers: Scriabin’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in F sharp minor Op.20, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.2 in G minor Op.16 and Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka . The tracklist also comprises Stravinsky’s Serenade and excerpts from the composer’s piano suite version of The Firebird , together with Prokofiev’s Sarcasmes Op.17, Piano Sonata No.8 in B flat major Op.84 and the “Gavotte” from Cinderella Op.95 No.2

Daniil Trifonov’s choice of music mirrors the inventive variety of this brief but explosive cultural moment. “ Scriabin ,” he notes, “wished to combine all aesthetic experience in a single, mystical, musical vision; Stravinsky unified the arts through a radical re interpretation of ballet; Prokofiev , meanwhile, embraced cinema as the most complete and modern synthesis of the senses.”

• Prokofiev: Cinderella - Three Pieces for Piano, Op. 95
• Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16
• Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat major, Op. 84
• Prokofiev: Sarcasms (5), Op. 17
• Scriabin: Piano Concerto in F sharp minor, Op. 20
• Stravinsky: Serenade in A for piano
• Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite
• Stravinsky: Three Movements from Petrushka