Daniil Trifonov in conversation with Shirley Apthorp (17 min.)

After his debut at the 2016 New Year’s Eve concert and his return with Schumann’s Piano Concerto around a year later, the young Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov was appointed Artist in Residence of the Berliner Philharmoniker for the 2018/2019 season. In addition to performances with the orchestra and the Herbert von Karajan Academy, his residence also included a solo recital with works by Beethoven, Schumann and Prokofiev. Both Beethoven’s Andante favori and Schumann’s Presto passionato were originally planned as movements of sonatas, whereas Prokofiev’s Eighth Sonata uses material that comes from an ultimately unrealised film project. Beethoven’s E flat major Sonata op. 31 and Schumann’s Bunte Blätter, which Trifonov regards as the composer’s most personal works, completed the programme. In this video, the pianist explains the concept behind this combination of works with the music journalist Shirley Apthorp.