Daniil Trifonov

The Czech Philharmonic is enriched by the closer ties and more intensive collaboration it enjoys with its selected Artists-in-Residence, a tradition established in the orchestra’s 126th season. Artists-in-Residence make multiple appearances during the season, and Daniil Trifonov will play at the Rudolfinum in the season’s opening concerts. The same programme will be repeated in Bratislava, then in December 2024 he will travel with the Czech Philharmonic to New York’s Carnegie Hall and Toronto’s Koerner Hall, each time playing the Piano Concerto in G minor by Antonín Dvořák, which was chosen to commemorate 2024 as the Year of Czech Music. In contrast with his grand concert appearances with orchestra, Trifonov will also give an intimate piano recital on 29 September at the Rudolfinum.

Named as “Artist of the Year 2019” by the magazine Musical America, Daniil Trifonov is known worldwide as a soloist, chamber player, and composer. Combining perfect techniqu  with extraordinary sensitivity and depth of interpretation, he can enchant both audiences and music critics. “What he does with his hands is technically incredible… and then there is his touch – so gifted with tenderness and, at the same time he has the demonic element. I have never heard anything like this before,” said Martha Argerich in amazement. His Liszt album Transcendental on the Deutsche Grammophon label, for which he records exclusively, won a Grammy as the best new solo album of 2018. In 2021, the French government made Trifonov a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. According to The Times of London, Trifonov is “without question the most astounding pianist of our age.” 

A native of Nizhny Novgorod, he began playing the piano aged five. He studied under Tatiana Zelikman at Moscow’s Gnessin Academy of Music and then under Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He came to international attention during the 2010/2011 season, when he was among the top finishers at three prestigious competitions: third prize at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, first prize at the Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv, and first prize (and the Grand Prix) at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In 2013, leading Italian critics awarded him the prestigious Franco Abbiati Prize for the best instrumental soloist. 

Over his career, Daniil Trifonov has released a number of outstanding recordings on various labels with recital and concerto repertoire. As a Deutsche Grammophon artist, he last presented himself in October 2021 on a recording titled Bach: The Art of Life with contents inspired by the programme of his tour of the USA and Europe. 

In the 2023/2024 season, Trifonov toured successfully on three continents, appearing with the best orchestras (Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Chicago Symphony, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia). He toured Europe with the cellist Gautier Capuçon and made solo appearances in Vienna, Munich, Madrid, Boston, Dallas, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Trifonov also studied composition, he has written piano concertos and music for solo piano or chamber ensembles, premiering the works himself. As part of his residency with the New York Philharmonic for the 2019/2020 season, he was the curator of the “Perspectives” concert series at Carnegie Hall, and the season before that he was the Artist-in-Residence of the Berlin Philharmonic.