Recordings
This eagerly-awaited new release sees Simon Trpčeski reunite with conductor Cristian Măcelaru to record Brahms Piano Concertos. Their unrivalled chemistry, paramount in Brahms’s chamber-like concertos, is on full display in these new performances which puts the two artists’ musical affinity in the spotlight.
Friendship comes out of a strong sense of belief, stemming from his country’s struggle throughout the age, his love for music, his faith in humanity’s inner strength and, above all, his friends and colleagues who made this recording happen. Mirroring this confidence-embracing approach, the neatly curated repertoire includes Brahms’s fiery Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, a work full of love, power and boldness. Connesson’s jaw-dropping Divertimento is presented in a fantastic newly available arrangement by percussionist Vlatko Nushev. And sandwiched between the two, Pande Shahov’s three-movement Quintet ends in a triumphant manner.
Simon Trpčeski is joined by his fellow MAKEDONISSIMO musicians Alexander Somov (cello), Hidan Mamudov (clarinet) and Vlatko Nushev (percussion), as well as Sorin Spasinovici (viola) and Gjorgi Dimchevski (violin).
Editor's Choice: Three masters of variation form – Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart – are explored, and very clearly enjoyed, by pianist Simon Trpčeski on this delightful album. — Gramophone
His Brahms has grave beauty, and his Beethoven – delivered with an exceptionally light touch – manages to sound both intimate and earth-shaking. — BBC Music Magazine
Shostakovich’s impish First Piano Concerto exudes the carefree attitude and sassy swagger of the young composer, and proves a perfect match with Simon’s playful pianism and Andrei Kavalinsky’s thundering trumpet. Written as a birthday present (and what a present!) for the composer’s son Maxim, the Second Piano Concerto is an uncharacteristically light-hearted piece given the doom and gloom of the time. Simon’s fiendish virtuosity and musical intelligence revel in this energetic piano favourite.
‘MAKEDONISSIMO’, meaning ‘very Macedonian’, sees pianist Simon Trpčeski take a detour from Beethoven and Brahms to celebrate the music of his homeland.
Trpčeski takes listeners on a joyous tour through the incredible rhythms and haunting melodies of the Macedonian folk music tradition in which highly intricate, jazz-influenced riffs and harmonies are seamlessly interwoven. Inspired by Trpčeski’s passion for the folk traditions of his homeland Macedonian composer Pande Shahov (b. 1973) created a six movement cycle he called Pletenki (Plaits). In these new arrangements Shahov merges his own sound world – one which is influenced by impressionist attitudes to resonance and jazz harmony – with Macedonia’s traditional music.
This project had its world premiere in May 2017 at the Ludwigsburg Festival, Germany, and went on to wow audiences in the UK (London, Liverpool, Birmingham), Slovenia (Ljubljana), France (Lille), Poland (Warsaw, Szczecin, Gdansk, Katowice), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Serbia (Belgrade), Montenegro (Bar), Romania (Cluj) and South Korea (Jeongseon, Wonju, Chuncheon).
Led by Trpčeski on piano the quintet of virtuosi musicians comprises Aleksandar Krapovski violin, Alexander Somov cello, Hidan Mamudov clarinet, saxophone, kaval and Vlatko Nushev percussion.
One doesn’t necessarily have to know the plots or subtexts attached to these ‘Tales from Russia’ to appreciate their musical essence. It helps, of course, to have a good narrator like Simon Trpčeski, whose keyboard prowess vividly communicates such stories without words...In many ways the musical substance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade is embedded within its brilliant orchestration. Yet somehow the late 19th-century Belgian composer Paul Gilson’s solo piano version manages to lose nothing in translation. — Gramophone
Prokofiev was just 21 when he first performed his Piano Concerto No.1 in Moscow on July 25, 1912 with his teacher Nikolay Tcherepnin conducting. That same year, even as he was composing his ferocious Piano Concerto No.2, Prokofiev was contemplating his third. His Piano Concerto No.3 has the kind of grace, economy and balance that one might almost call Classical and has become one of the 20th century s most popular concertos. Simon Trpceski demonstrates why in these performances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra led by Vasily Petrenko.
This recital, recorded at Wigmore Hall on July 19, 2014, attests the most beautiful playing. The first of Brahms s Three Intermezzi, Op 117, is immediate evidence of a bloom of a touch, and the second opens into rare poetry. Brahms s Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel shifts the mood from deep melancholy to creative good cheer and steady magnificence: the fugue, when it comes, has a joyousness born of simple inevitability. Nothing is hammered out. Ravel s Valses nobles et sentimentales offer a glittering contrast; and the concluding sequence of Novelettes, Improvisations and Toccata by Poulenc, a wry or wistful or amusing one. — Paul Driver, The Sunday Times
Tchaikovsky's evergreen First Piano Concerto has long overshadowed the even more virtuosic Second, which is a great shame, as it is every bit as tuneful and rewarding as it's famous sibling. 'The piano part is a strenuous workout for the soloist. Mr Trpceski admirably conquered it's myriad technical difficulties, which surpass that of the First Concerto. He played with virtuoso panache in the many bravura passages and with an elegant touch in more introverted moments.' New York Times 'It is not simply that Simon Trpceski has a phenomenal technique. Crucially he has the musical intelligence to know how to apply it and at the same can convey such joy in doing so.' the Daily Telegraph This disc marks the debut on the ONYX label of Simon Trpceski, the RLPO and Vasily Petrenko.
With repertoire rich in nods towards a folk hinterland, Trpčeski’s programme for this Wigmore Hall Live CD draws strongly on his deep immersion in national traditions of music and dance throughout his childhood. Schubert’s tuneful 16 German Dances pave the way to what is arguably the composer’s most virtuosic sonata, his ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy. Almost symphonic in scale, Trpčeski’s emphatically energetic performance here unleashes an emotional outpouring. By way of a transcription of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV543, in which the rich sonorities of the organ work are handsomely explored in an arrangement for piano, the second half of the programme focuses on Liszt. Here, Trpčeski demonstrates his wide palette of tone colours with subtly sculpted phrases to explore the depths of these masterpieces. — Wigmore Hall
Simon Trp ceski s recording of Rachmaninov s Piano Concertos 2 & 3 was one of the most acclaimed and best-selling classical releases of2010, reaching the Top 10 of Billboard s Classical Chart and winning a Diapason d or. His frequent collaborations with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra are justly celebrated, and now the two complete the Rachmaninov canon with this highly anticipated follow-up.
Simon Trpčeski and Vasily Petrenko bring a certain lightness and refinement to Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, while at the same revealing the work’s deep emotions and inherent melancholy. Trpceski’s playing effuses romantic bravura in the rapid finger passages of the outer movements, while cultivating a classical elegance in the hauntingly beautiful slow movement.
Simon Trpceski turns to Debussy's withdrawn poetry and fantasy with an ease and delicacy that suggest, once more, a wholly exceptional artist. He is, perhaps above all, harmonically aware, with every change of colour and sonority subtly underpinned, making you doubly aware of Debussy's chiaroscuro, his infinite play of light and shade. — The Gramophone Classical Music Guide
Given Trpceski's reputation for sensitivity, meanwhile, it comes as something of a surprise to discover that his Chopin is so extrovert. The Scherzos dazzle. The Sonata is often thrilling, wild and tumultuous. Throughout, you are aware of a formidable intelligence at work, rethinking each piece from scratch, while his sense of dynamic control is marvellously acute. The Scherzos' plunges into reflective quiet are breathtaking and moving. His deployment of infinitely subtle shades of volume in the Sonata's funeral march leads to a relentless intensity of mood. An exceptionally fine recital, fabulously played. — The Guardian
This is only Simon Trpceski's second recording, but it sounds like the work of a far more experienced pianist. Although the opening Prelude (Op. 23, No. 2) starts things off with quite a bang, the pianist is quite up to the challenge. He then goes on to offer a very well-planned recital, alternating familiar and unfamiliar items and offering a wide variety of moods. The producer has even varied the amount of time between tracks, adding to the impression that we are listening to a real recital. Best of all, Trpceski proves to be a gifted Rachmaninov player. He offers tonal variety in his playing which is sometimes even reminiscent of Richter--the highest praise this reviewer has to offer. And in the bombastic Second Sonata, Trpceski plays with such conviction and resource that he has convinced at least one previously-skeptical listener that this piece is actually worth hearing. Even if your collection is already well supplied with Rachmaninov piano music, this disc is still worth a try. — Leslie Gerber
Simon Trpceski was most people’s favourite finalist at the London Piano Competition in 2000 and he’s now a BBC New Generation Artist. This disc amply justifies the enthusiasm his playing has so far engendered – it’s a magnificent recording debut. The spacious acoustic enhances Trpceski’s radiant sound while preserving the sharp clarity of his articulation. He never forces his tone nor strains after effect, so that Tchaikovsky’s gracefulness is always preserved, no matter what pressure Pletnev’s arrangement puts on the pianist. — BBC Music Magazine
This eagerly-awaited new release sees Simon Trpčeski reunite with conductor Cristian Măcelaru to record Brahms Piano Concertos. Their unrivalled chemistry, paramount in Brahms’s chamber-like concertos, is on full display in these new performances which puts the two artists’ musical affinity in the spotlight.
Shostakovich’s impish First Piano Concerto exudes the carefree attitude and sassy swagger of the young composer, and proves a perfect match with Simon’s playful pianism and Andrei Kavalinsky’s thundering trumpet. Written as a birthday present (and what a present!) for the composer’s son Maxim, the Second Piano Concerto is an uncharacteristically light-hearted piece given the doom and gloom of the time. Simon’s fiendish virtuosity and musical intelligence revel in this energetic piano favourite.
Prokofiev was just 21 when he first performed his Piano Concerto No.1 in Moscow on July 25, 1912 with his teacher Nikolay Tcherepnin conducting. That same year, even as he was composing his ferocious Piano Concerto No.2, Prokofiev was contemplating his third. His Piano Concerto No.3 has the kind of grace, economy and balance that one might almost call Classical and has become one of the 20th century s most popular concertos. Simon Trpceski demonstrates why in these performances with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra led by Vasily Petrenko.
Tchaikovsky's evergreen First Piano Concerto has long overshadowed the even more virtuosic Second, which is a great shame, as it is every bit as tuneful and rewarding as it's famous sibling. 'The piano part is a strenuous workout for the soloist. Mr Trpceski admirably conquered it's myriad technical difficulties, which surpass that of the First Concerto. He played with virtuoso panache in the many bravura passages and with an elegant touch in more introverted moments.' New York Times 'It is not simply that Simon Trpceski has a phenomenal technique. Crucially he has the musical intelligence to know how to apply it and at the same can convey such joy in doing so.' the Daily Telegraph This disc marks the debut on the ONYX label of Simon Trpceski, the RLPO and Vasily Petrenko.
Simon Trp ceski s recording of Rachmaninov s Piano Concertos 2 & 3 was one of the most acclaimed and best-selling classical releases of2010, reaching the Top 10 of Billboard s Classical Chart and winning a Diapason d or. His frequent collaborations with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra are justly celebrated, and now the two complete the Rachmaninov canon with this highly anticipated follow-up.
Simon Trpčeski and Vasily Petrenko bring a certain lightness and refinement to Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, while at the same revealing the work’s deep emotions and inherent melancholy. Trpceski’s playing effuses romantic bravura in the rapid finger passages of the outer movements, while cultivating a classical elegance in the hauntingly beautiful slow movement.
Editor's Choice: Three masters of variation form – Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart – are explored, and very clearly enjoyed, by pianist Simon Trpčeski on this delightful album. — Gramophone
His Brahms has grave beauty, and his Beethoven – delivered with an exceptionally light touch – manages to sound both intimate and earth-shaking. — BBC Music Magazine
One doesn’t necessarily have to know the plots or subtexts attached to these ‘Tales from Russia’ to appreciate their musical essence. It helps, of course, to have a good narrator like Simon Trpčeski, whose keyboard prowess vividly communicates such stories without words...In many ways the musical substance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade is embedded within its brilliant orchestration. Yet somehow the late 19th-century Belgian composer Paul Gilson’s solo piano version manages to lose nothing in translation. — Gramophone
This recital, recorded at Wigmore Hall on July 19, 2014, attests the most beautiful playing. The first of Brahms s Three Intermezzi, Op 117, is immediate evidence of a bloom of a touch, and the second opens into rare poetry. Brahms s Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel shifts the mood from deep melancholy to creative good cheer and steady magnificence: the fugue, when it comes, has a joyousness born of simple inevitability. Nothing is hammered out. Ravel s Valses nobles et sentimentales offer a glittering contrast; and the concluding sequence of Novelettes, Improvisations and Toccata by Poulenc, a wry or wistful or amusing one. — Paul Driver, The Sunday Times
With repertoire rich in nods towards a folk hinterland, Trpčeski’s programme for this Wigmore Hall Live CD draws strongly on his deep immersion in national traditions of music and dance throughout his childhood. Schubert’s tuneful 16 German Dances pave the way to what is arguably the composer’s most virtuosic sonata, his ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy. Almost symphonic in scale, Trpčeski’s emphatically energetic performance here unleashes an emotional outpouring. By way of a transcription of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV543, in which the rich sonorities of the organ work are handsomely explored in an arrangement for piano, the second half of the programme focuses on Liszt. Here, Trpčeski demonstrates his wide palette of tone colours with subtly sculpted phrases to explore the depths of these masterpieces. — Wigmore Hall
Simon Trpceski turns to Debussy's withdrawn poetry and fantasy with an ease and delicacy that suggest, once more, a wholly exceptional artist. He is, perhaps above all, harmonically aware, with every change of colour and sonority subtly underpinned, making you doubly aware of Debussy's chiaroscuro, his infinite play of light and shade. — The Gramophone Classical Music Guide
Given Trpceski's reputation for sensitivity, meanwhile, it comes as something of a surprise to discover that his Chopin is so extrovert. The Scherzos dazzle. The Sonata is often thrilling, wild and tumultuous. Throughout, you are aware of a formidable intelligence at work, rethinking each piece from scratch, while his sense of dynamic control is marvellously acute. The Scherzos' plunges into reflective quiet are breathtaking and moving. His deployment of infinitely subtle shades of volume in the Sonata's funeral march leads to a relentless intensity of mood. An exceptionally fine recital, fabulously played. — The Guardian
This is only Simon Trpceski's second recording, but it sounds like the work of a far more experienced pianist. Although the opening Prelude (Op. 23, No. 2) starts things off with quite a bang, the pianist is quite up to the challenge. He then goes on to offer a very well-planned recital, alternating familiar and unfamiliar items and offering a wide variety of moods. The producer has even varied the amount of time between tracks, adding to the impression that we are listening to a real recital. Best of all, Trpceski proves to be a gifted Rachmaninov player. He offers tonal variety in his playing which is sometimes even reminiscent of Richter--the highest praise this reviewer has to offer. And in the bombastic Second Sonata, Trpceski plays with such conviction and resource that he has convinced at least one previously-skeptical listener that this piece is actually worth hearing. Even if your collection is already well supplied with Rachmaninov piano music, this disc is still worth a try. — Leslie Gerber
Simon Trpceski was most people’s favourite finalist at the London Piano Competition in 2000 and he’s now a BBC New Generation Artist. This disc amply justifies the enthusiasm his playing has so far engendered – it’s a magnificent recording debut. The spacious acoustic enhances Trpceski’s radiant sound while preserving the sharp clarity of his articulation. He never forces his tone nor strains after effect, so that Tchaikovsky’s gracefulness is always preserved, no matter what pressure Pletnev’s arrangement puts on the pianist. — BBC Music Magazine
Friendship comes out of a strong sense of belief, stemming from his country’s struggle throughout the age, his love for music, his faith in humanity’s inner strength and, above all, his friends and colleagues who made this recording happen. Mirroring this confidence-embracing approach, the neatly curated repertoire includes Brahms’s fiery Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, a work full of love, power and boldness. Connesson’s jaw-dropping Divertimento is presented in a fantastic newly available arrangement by percussionist Vlatko Nushev. And sandwiched between the two, Pande Shahov’s three-movement Quintet ends in a triumphant manner.
Simon Trpčeski is joined by his fellow MAKEDONISSIMO musicians Alexander Somov (cello), Hidan Mamudov (clarinet) and Vlatko Nushev (percussion), as well as Sorin Spasinovici (viola) and Gjorgi Dimchevski (violin).
‘MAKEDONISSIMO’, meaning ‘very Macedonian’, sees pianist Simon Trpčeski take a detour from Beethoven and Brahms to celebrate the music of his homeland.
Trpčeski takes listeners on a joyous tour through the incredible rhythms and haunting melodies of the Macedonian folk music tradition in which highly intricate, jazz-influenced riffs and harmonies are seamlessly interwoven. Inspired by Trpčeski’s passion for the folk traditions of his homeland Macedonian composer Pande Shahov (b. 1973) created a six movement cycle he called Pletenki (Plaits). In these new arrangements Shahov merges his own sound world – one which is influenced by impressionist attitudes to resonance and jazz harmony – with Macedonia’s traditional music.
This project had its world premiere in May 2017 at the Ludwigsburg Festival, Germany, and went on to wow audiences in the UK (London, Liverpool, Birmingham), Slovenia (Ljubljana), France (Lille), Poland (Warsaw, Szczecin, Gdansk, Katowice), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Serbia (Belgrade), Montenegro (Bar), Romania (Cluj) and South Korea (Jeongseon, Wonju, Chuncheon).
Led by Trpčeski on piano the quintet of virtuosi musicians comprises Aleksandar Krapovski violin, Alexander Somov cello, Hidan Mamudov clarinet, saxophone, kaval and Vlatko Nushev percussion.
