Daniil Trifonov - Bach-Liszt - Fantasy and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542

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Johann Sebastian Bach - Franz Liszt
Fantasy and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542

Daniil Trifonov, piano

New York, December 2014

[michaeltaylor]

I think people at the gym wonder why I'm on the StairMaster with tears in my eyes.

[pianogus]

"What he does with his hands is technically incredible. Add to that his touch - it has delicacy and also the demonic element. I've never heard anything like that." - Martha Argerich

[patriciahill]

Trifonov is not "mannered". There is nothing posed here. He is a consummate artist who is immersed in - totally absorbed by - the music. And I think Bach, and certainly Liszt, would be pleased to have their music endure and be expressed through such an artist.

[zyrtec]

This material is 9 years old today (2024). I've never heard this artist before. To me, he beats Gould in this so-much-needed here precision and clarity, plus he is much more "flexible emotionally" i.e. not as "robotic" as Glenn. Purely astounding performance to me. Where was I for those 9 years!!

[johnrock]

Those Bach-liszt transcriptions are so neglected. I hope he records all of them. Absolutely fantastic!

[waynelandsman]

At times I thought there were organ stops on this piano. The variety of timbres he gets from the piano is dazzling!

[johnrickert]

He's in another world. He has allowed us to hear it.

[draganilicveljko]

Incredible, deeply understood and realized. With gentle touch . No one up to date play so sensible this, ,double,, Fantasy and fugue. Especially full orchestra sounds through the bars, timely from 9.20 to 9.35 sec. Unrepeatable!!

[klaus_vans]

He is having an out-of-body experience, and so we are! 🤯👽

[tatianad]

Гениальное исполнение. Преклоняюсь перед этим музыкантом-мыслителем. Для меня это лучший пианист современности.

[lepetitorchestre]

On dirait que cette musique vient d'un autre monde, de l'autre monde. Les accords sont d'une audace inouïe, même aujourd'hui. On est transporté dans une dimension parallèle, dans laquelle la médiocrité, la bêtise et la méchanceté ont disparu. Un monde dans lequel tout le mal a disparu, car il n'a plus rien à offrir. On ressent la présence de Dieu, toute sa puissance et sa force qui balaye tout sur son passage. Le mystère divin, palpable. Magnifique Trifonov, totalement habité. Il n'est plus sur la terre. "La musique creuse le ciel" disait Baudelaire. Bravo et respect aux compositeurs !

[elisabethbaumer-sngo]

Die Musik fliesst nur so aus ihm heraus, beglueckend und tief ergreifend. Daniil selbst ist die Musik ! ❤

[shin-i-chikozima]

The wonderfulness and solemnity of his performance are, unrivaled, and off the charts

[jluminy]

Cette interprétation de la géniale Fantaisie et Fugue de Bach par Daniil Trifonov est absolument fabuleuse. L'intelligence musicale, les plans sonores, l'équilibre des voix, le thème de fugue toujours mis en relief, ... tout est là. Sans doute la plus belle interprétation de ce monument de la musique baroque qu'il m'ait été donné d'entendre.

[ericastier]

His sense of rhythm is phenomenal. It's one of the hallmarks of great pianists. I love his performance and his dedication. That said, i would sometimes give the left hand prominence over the right hand which it seems very few pianist are comfortable in doing. He does it but not always when i want. As for example @9:28 that right hand is less interesting than the left. But then his theatricals are amazingly accurate to the music. it's total devotion and sincerity from this grand artist which i respect immensely.

[PFunk-vfnh]

Who else plays Liszt's transcription of BWV 542 like this? Particularly noteworthy is Trifonov's wonderful transparent rendering of the Fantasy. Pratically all other pianists can't seem to avoid drowning the whole thing in a sea of blur and rumbling. Daniil Trifonov clearly shows he has a huge lot to give to the world as interpreter of J.S. Bach. Having proven beyond a shred of a doubt he is a true virtuoso through his recordings of Rachmaninoff, Liszt and Chopin, nothing stands in his way now to record J.S. Bach. Incidently, he has scheduled BWV 1080 for concerts in various cities as part of his 2020 concert tour.
By the way: the sound quality of this BWV 542 at Carnegie is really good. A wonderful piano sound, so wonderful indeed that - in my personal opinion - it even surpasses the organ original.

[herrulkich]

Nothing Sience offers can explain why this young man is capable of feeling and understanding all these nuances and even expressing them on an instrument.

[yvanazastrasz]

A perfect example of what I think about music : it isn't made to be listened to. It is made to be lived and felt. He must have made all his music teachers cry with his unorthodox posture at the piano, but seriously : when you see, hear, and feel this... who would dare complain that he's not sitting 200% straight ?Love his body expression nearly as much as his music. Thanks much, Mr Trifonov. That was worth Go(u)ld  !!   ;)

[goodman]

What a great Liszt’s adaptation of this masterpiece. Originally written on organ and this sounds as it was played on organ.

[EarlLedden]

There are so many thematic perfections in this rendition that, after a month, I still listen about 3 times a week.