Interview With Daniil Trifonov 02/21/2012
 Pianist Daniil Trifonov. Daniil Trifonov is making a big splash in the piano world these days. I spoke to him last week, and my interview with him appeared in today’s Houston Chronicle. Although he’s only 20 years old, pianist Daniil Trifonov is in demand just about everywhere. This season, the Russian musician who now lives in the U.S. has about 100 concerts on his schedule – including a recital for Society for the Performing Arts Houston on Wednesday. He’ll play a mixed program by Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin and Claude Debussy. Trifonov’s meteoric rise was driven by a string of victories at major competitions. During the course of a year, he won the gold medal at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Competition, another gold medal at the Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv and a third prize at Warsaw’s Chopin Competition. A win at any one of these events would attract attention – but together, they’re a perfect storm of pianistic success. Trifonov recently spoke about his burgeoning career, from his home in Cleveland. Q: You’ve done very well in music competitions. But how do you feel about them? Are they a good thing? A: It depends on how often you participate, and what programs you prepare. If you go from one competition to another with the same program, it will not develop you. It can only exhaust you, because competitions can be very stressful. But if you always prepare a new program for each competition, you have the potential to grow. But of course you have to know when to stop – competitions shouldn’t become part of a normal life. Q: Have you entered a lot of competitions? And do you plan to enter more? A: I haven’t participated in many competitions. But last year there were the three major competitions in the same year – the Tchaikovsky, the Rubinstein and the Chopin – and I wanted to participate in all of them. These are three of the most respected competitions for piano, so it was a very demanding year! Now, I’m not planning to enter any competitions in the future. Q: Why did you come to the U.S. to further your studies? Surely there are plenty of good piano teachers in Russia. A: When I was finishing my high school in Moscow, my teacher knew that I wanted to study in the United States, for a new musical experience. Also, I won a grant from a music foundation that helps Russian artists study abroad. My teacher knew many important musicians, and she asked people she knew for recommendations. A lot of people recommended Sergei Babayan, who teaches at the Cleveland Institute of Music. So I came to study with him. I’d never met him before my first lesson in Cleveland, two-and-a-half years ago. The most important thing for young pianists is a great teacher, and that’s why I’m here. Also, the school is well established – it’s one of the best, in terms of facilities and equipment. I like it a lot here. Q: Now that you’re enjoying so much success as a professional concert-pianist, why do you still feel the need for a teacher? A: I’m only 20 years old – and I know people who study to 30 and more. It’s always important, even when you become an experienced musician, to play for other musicians and hear their opinions. Of course, you have to pass these ideas through your heart and mind and decide what you think – but you should listen to what other musicians say. Q: So how do you balance your studies with your concerts? A: I make certain periods of time, three or four weeks, when I don’t play any concerts or accept offers to perform. Q: Is your program for SPA Houston new? A: Yes, it’s a new program that I’ve prepared recently. This will be the second time I’ve played it. I usually change my recital programs every six months. Q: What do you do when you’re not working on music? A: I do everything from running, swimming and cycling to reading or watching movies. I also like cooking and art museums. And I study the lives of composers, to learn more about their music. I have many interests – but there’s only so much time. © Colin Eatock 2012 Add Comment Classical Music Critics (Captioned Photos) 02/18/2012
Here’s a “sequel” to my captioned photos about the life of a classical composer. This time, I’ve turned my steely, withering gaze on my own profession: music criticism.
 NASA takes good pictures. Here’s something I wrote for the Houston Chronicle about a big new multimedia production by the Houston Symphony this weekend. These days, it seems that many orchestras are looking for ways to make their concerts into audio-visual experiences.
Hollywood producers think every popular movie deserves a sequel – and the Houston Symphony agrees. Following the success of the orchestra’s multimedia performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets in 2010, it has created another film with music. This time, the symphony will be visiting a planet not included in Holst’s suite – Earth. You Are a Classical Composer 02/15/2012
Captioned photo-collages describing occupations are currently popular on the internet. So I couldn’t resist creating one of my own. Here it is – I think it sums up the situation pretty well.
CBC Music: Classics on Autopilot 02/14/2012
 There's a new logo in town. I went down to the Toronto headquarters of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation yesterday for a press conference. The occasion was the launch of “CBC Music”: a new online service that provides access to a huge trove of recorded music, in a wide variety of genres.
Classical music is certainly represented – but before I have my say about this new service, I’ll digress and share two brief conversations I had with CBC staffers at the press conference. Tafelmusik’s House of Dreams 02/10/2012
 Tafelmusik's House of Dreams, on February 8, 2012.. Here’s a review I wrote for Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper.
There’s a new trend catching on and bringing change to the tradition-bound classical music world. Orchestras and other classical performers have started to realize that audiences are increasingly drawn to a mix of artistic experiences. While there may be nothing wrong with a standard-format concert, it’s a bonus if there’s something to look at as well. Toronto the Young 02/09/2012
 A full house at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall. The American music critic Greg Sandow has written some very nice things about Toronto in a recent blog posting. (You can read his post here.)
He notes that about a third of the Toronto Symphony’s audience is under the age of 35 – a remarkable statistic, by North American standards. And he also suggests that Toronto’s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra is enjoying popularity with young people, too. Soundstreams’ Sealed Angel 02/04/2012
 Composer Rodion Shchedrin. Here is a review I wrote for the Globe and Mail, of a brilliant performance I attended on in Toronto on February 2.
Lawrence Cherney, artistic director of Soundstreams Canada, has a knack for finding ways to sell obscure contemporary music to Toronto audiences. Sometimes he does it by conjoining different art forms. And that’s what he did on Thursday night at the Royal Conservatory’s Koerner Hall, when he brought to the stage the combined voices of the Elmer Iseler Singers and the Amadeus Choir plus five dancers from ProArteDanza. The TSO Flows On 02/01/2012
 Peter Oundjian knows how it's done. Ah yes, the annual season announcement from the local symphony orchestra. Is there anything in this world that’s always so predictably the same, yet always different?
This morning, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra announced its concert lineup for 2012-13. Once again, the chairman of the TSO’s board of directors thanked the orchestra’s sponsors and TSO music director Peter Oundjian outlined the coming season. That’s how it’s done. Amici Goes Fashionable 01/31/2012
 Three dresses by Umetsu, at the Glenn Gould Studio. Here’s a review I wrote for Toronto’s Globe and Mail, of the Amici chamber ensemble’s Sunday concert.
Toronto’s Amici chamber concerts took a turn for the glamorous on Sunday afternoon, at the CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio, with a program called Fashionista. This marriage of chamber music and haute couture – an example of Amici’s penchant for spicing up their performances with additional elements – brought to the stage a collection of evening gowns by Toronto designer Rosemarie Umetsu and musical selections by three composers. The result was a cross between a concert and a fashion show. | Eatock Daily
I'm a composer and writer based in Toronto – and this is my classical music blog, Eatock Daily. ArchivesFebruary 2012 Index
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