Special offer. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty; Children's Album; Piano Sonata, Op. 80; Theme and Variations, Op. 19/6
Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 3rd October 2025
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Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2025, Editor's Choice
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
-
The New York Times, Best Classical Music Albums of 2025
-
Gramophone Awards, 2026 Finalist, Piano
With all due respect to Mikhail Pletnev's excellent recording of the Album for the Young, Op 39, Trifonov now claims reference-version status.
Special offer. Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty; Children's Album; Piano Sonata, Op. 80; Theme and Variations, Op. 19/6
Daniil Trifonov (piano)
Purchase product
Other available formats
Awards:
-
Presto Recording of the Week, 3rd October 2025
-
Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2025, Editor's Choice
-
Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
-
The New York Times, Best Classical Music Albums of 2025
-
Gramophone Awards, 2026 Finalist, Piano
With all due respect to Mikhail Pletnev's excellent recording of the Album for the Young, Op 39, Trifonov now claims reference-version status.
About
Daniil Trifonov, hailed by the New York Times as "one of the most awesome pianists of our time", releases his highly anticipated Tchaikovsky album!
The star pianist explores a selection of Tchaikovsky's solo piano works. These reveal the more intimate, private side of the Romantic composer. "Tchaikovsky was not a choleric, morose personality. Particularly in his younger years, he found joy in his close relationships and emotional comfort in his family," says Trifonov.
The album includes the early Piano Sonata in C sharp minor, 'a neglected masterpiece', which is rich in contrasting moods and original ideas; the Thème original et variations in F major; and the Children's Album, Op. 39. Together, these works provide an insight into what Daniil Trifonov calls Tchaikovsky's “private dimension” - “a spirit conditioned by memories of youth and family”. The album concludes with the vibrant and colourful Suite from Sleeping Beauty. This was written in 1978 by Mikhail Pletnev, who was 21 years old at the time. Pletnev won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in the same year — just as Trifonov did 33 years later in 2011 with his spectacular victory. For Trifonov, Pletnev's transcription for solo piano featuring highlights from the popular Tchaikovsky ballet is "a masterful piano work in its own right".
Contents and tracklist
- Daniil Trifonov (piano)
- Recorded: 2025-01-16
- Recording Venue: Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
- Daniil Trifonov (piano)
- Recorded: 2025-01-16
- Recording Venue: Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
- Daniil Trifonov (piano)
- Recorded: 2025-01-16
- Recording Venue: Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
- Daniil Trifonov (piano)
- Recorded: 2025-01-16
- Recording Venue: Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts
Spotlight on this release
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Tchaikovsky from Daniil Trifonov
3rd Oct 2025
The Russian pianist combines deft dexterity with a vivid musical imagination across a programme which includes Album for the Young and Mikhail Pletnev's transcription of The Sleeping Beauty Suite.
Awards and reviews
-
Presto Recording of the Week3rd October 2025
-
Gramophone MagazineAwards Issue 2025Editor's Choice
-
Presto Recordings of the YearFinalist 2025
-
The New York TimesBest Classical Music Albums of 2025
Awards Issue 2025
With all due respect to Mikhail Pletnev's excellent recording of the Album for the Young, Op 39, Trifonov now claims reference-version status.
3rd October 2025
Tchaikovsky's Album for the Young weaves a magic of its own, and I can't imagine its images being more persuasively painted than they are here. These vignettes reflect their titles more vividly than do the movements of The Seasons, and as the title suggests, this is music that could be approached by a younger player, but Trifonov flies through the test of being a fine musician who can bring the depth of experience to approachable writing.
8th October 2025
the best avenue for Trifonov’s virtuosity remains the astonishing suite from The Sleeping Beauty concocted by Mikhail Pletnev in 1978, a creation that never resembles an orchestral score radically reduced in colours and texture but sounds instead like music specifically written for every one of the piano’s 88 keys. Trifonov’s performance is colossally effective, and so is the entire album.
The New York Times 18th December 2025
What an illuminating artist the pianist Daniil Trifonov has become...its highlight is a suite from “The Sleeping Beauty,” in which playing of delicacy and delight builds into fervent emotional force.
