Daniil Trifonov, winner of the Tchaikovsky and Artur Rubinstein International Piano Competitions

I was reading a news bulletin in the August-September edition of Pianist magazine that

Danill Trifonov won two major prestigious international piano competitions back to back within weeks of each other! So I was very curious to hear his playing and learn more about this Wunderkind.

Born in 1991 Russian Daniill Trifonov, has won prizes and competitions most of his performing life and studied at the Moscow Gnesin School of Music (school for gifted musicians - much like the UK's Yehudi Menuhin school). There he studied under top teachers, one Tatiana Zelikman, who herself studied under Theodore Gutman, student of Heinrich Neuhaus. Neuhaus was the author of 'the art of piano playing' and also taught Radu Lupu and Richter.

Tchaikovsky Competition Jurist Martha Argerich was impressed with Danill's pianism:

 “Last night I listened to him again on YouTube – he has everything and more. What he does with his hands is technically incredible. It’s also his touch – he has tenderness and also the demonic element. I never heard anything like that.”

-Martha Argerich;  Financial Times, July 8, 2011

 So what does the 2011 winner of the Artur Rubinstein Competition and the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition sound like? Let's first hear the demonic element!

Artur Rubinstein Competition 2011 Performance: Trifinov performs Liszt's Mephisto Waltz at the



2011 Tchaikovsky XIV competition Performance - Gala Prize winner's concert [excerpt]  Trifinov performing  One of the jury members this year was Vladimir Ashkenazy! (a previous winner himself)



Trifonov performed Liszt's La Campanella as an Encore at the Tchaikovsky Competition.  Here's a performance from 2008.
 

 Now for some tenderness, Danill performs Chopin's Piano Concerto #1 at the finals of the Artur Rubinstein Competition, Israel 2011