Kirill Petrenko and Daniil Trifonov perform Brahms and Strauss
Star pianist Daniil Trifonov, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko have performed together on numerous occasions: described by the press as a “sonic storm” and an “inspired exchange”, this collaboration now continues with Johannes Brahms’s First Piano Concerto. This is followed by Richard Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra. Beginning with a hymn-like sunrise, the dramatic, mystical and colourful work describes the philosopher Zarathustra’s journey to the people.
In addition to both having an extraordinary talent for the piano, Johannes Brahms and Daniil Trifonov have another thing in common: hiking. “Nature is good for musicians in general,” said the internationally acclaimed pianist in an interview for the Digital Concert Hall, “good ideas come while hiking.” In the autumn of 1854, one such idea came to Brahms, who was just 20 years old at the time, during a long hike along the Rhine. On the spur of the moment, he decided to pay an unannounced visit to Robert and Clara Schumann – a decisive moment in his career and his life.
A deep friendship, based on mutual respect, quickly developed between the couple and Brahms. Robert Schumann attempted suicide shortly afterwards by jumping into the Rhine. After being rescued, he was admitted to a sanatorium, and Brahms remained at Clara’s side. Romantic feelings entered into the relationship between this unconventional couple – Brahms, who came from a humble background, was 14 years younger than the upper-middle-class concert pianist. During this period, Brahms composed his First Piano Concerto, captivated by Clara, but loyal to his friend and patron Robert. With a running time of almost 50 minutes, it comes across as a colossus, yet avoids superficial virtuosity. The energetic outer movements frame an intimate adagio, which the composer describes as a “gentle portrait” of his muse. Years later, he was to throw the love letters that he and Clara had exchanged over a long period into the Rhine.
Following the final rehearsal of Also sprach Zarathustra in 1896, Richard Strauss declared, “It was by far the most significant, the most perfectly formed, the most interesting and the most distinctive of my works”. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote the text following a mystical experience while hiking in Switzerland, which moved him to tears of joy. Strauss, too, had been an avid hiker since his youth. The alternation between C major and B major, which characterises the tone poem, can be interpreted as the eternal polarity of nature and humanity. Strauss portrays what is arguably the most famous sunrise in the history of music at the beginning of the work with fanfares and powerful timpani beats – an encounter with the grandeur of nature rendered in sound.
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