Russian pianist
Daniil Trifonov
lives in New York, but it is still something of a gutsy move to embrace his new American identity so thoroughly. After all, the classical music market in the U.S. is small compared with that of even a medium-sized European country, but that is just the charm of
My American Story -- North
(the "north" refers to North America, and a South American collection is said to be on the way). There is a certain wide-eyed quality to
Trifonov
's exploration of American music here. He is not the first foreign classical musician to have admired jazzman
Art Tatum
, who opens the show with an especially spectacular treatment of
I Cover the Waterfront
, and certainly not the first to have recorded
Gershwin
's
Piano Concerto in F
, where he is ably accompanied by the
Philadelphia Orchestra
under
Yannick Nézet-Seguin
. What is impressive though, is that he delves outward from these.
nods to both the avant-garde, in
Copland
's early
Piano Variations
, and to minimalism, in
John Adams
'
China Gate
. Yet, he also includes a lovely film melody, a theme from
Thomas Newman
's score for
American Beauty
, and this has achieved a measure of virality online.
also emphasizes the importance of U.S. film music in a second concerto commissioned from composer
Mason Bates
, especially for this project, an enjoyable, swashbuckling ride. He closes with a version of
John Cage
4' 33'
that is somewhat at odds with the work's original conception as he intervenes with New York street sounds on a Manhattan walk, but this works well enough in the adventurous context. There are keyboard heroics here from this famed virtuoso, but there is also a spirit of curiosity that is much to be admired and enjoyed. This album is available in a vinyl version that includes two bonus tracks. ~ James Manheim