Daniil Trifonov explores Latin American treasures on 'Mi Historia Americana – Sur'
“Daniil Trifonov’s latest album bristles with virtuosity” ★★★★★
Financial Times, on My American Story – North
On the second leg of his autobiographical musical journey through the Americas,
the pianist delves into the South American and Caribbean repertoires
“Latin American music has distinctive qualities: inspirations from nature, traditional dances
and songs, and evocations of faith” – Daniil Trifonov
Trifonov is joined by the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Gonzalo Grau for
Barroso’s Aquarela do Brasil and the world premiere recording of Golijov’s Cuadros del Sur,
both arranged especially for this project
He also performs solo works by Gabriela Lena Frank, Ginastera,
Guarnieri, Lecuona, Villa-Lobos and others, as well as his own Tango
The album will be released on 2 October 2026
Daniil Trifonov’s My American Story – North came out in 2024 to widespread critical acclaim. In this second volume of his musical journey across the Americas, Mi Historia Americana – Sur (My American Story – South), the pianist shares a wide-ranging selection of his Latin American and Caribbean musical discoveries. Through both solo and orchestral works, Trifonov’s travels take him from Cuba and the Dominican Republic to Brazil, Peru and Argentina. In many senses, this album is his most personal to date, given the close links he has forged with the region – largely through his marriage to fellow pianist Judith Ramírez, who was born in the Dominican Republic. “Like Latin America itself,” says Trifonov, “the repertoire is vast and full of variety. There are many pieces that are popular in the region yet unfamiliar in other parts of the world. I wanted to present a picture of the musical richness this literature has to offer.”
The two orchestral works on the album (Aquarela do Brasil and Cuadros del Sur) were recorded in February 2026 in São Paulo, while Trifonov was in Brazil for concerts featuring this repertoire. He was joined by members of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) and Venezuelan multi-instrumentalist/arranger/musical director Gonzalo Grau. The concerts were filmed by Deutsche Grammophon, with a STAGE+ premiere planned for a future date.
The album will be released digitally, on CD (2 discs) and on vinyl (3 LPs) on 2 October 2026, with a 5‑track vinyl disc entitled The Encores out the same day, to tie in with Trifonov’s upcoming recital tour. The pianist’s transcription of Gustavo Santaolalla’s main theme from The Last of Us comes out as a standalone digital single on 24 July. A series of digital tracks from the album will be shared between then and 2 October, each accompanied by a performance video.
Mi Historia Americana – Sur opens with Gonzalo Grau’s arrangement of Ary Barroso’s hugely popular song Aquarela do Brasil. Grau also created Cuadros del Sur (“Pictures of the South”) specifically for this Trifonov project, a co-commission by OSESP, Deutsche Grammophon, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Aspen Music Festival. The music is drawn from Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov’s choral-orchestral work La Pasión según San Marcos, with formal inspiration provided by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition – Grau alternates some of the most varied sections of Golijov’s Pasión with a recurring “promenade” theme. Trifonov and the orchestra gave the world premiere performance in February, and present the first recording here. OSESP also becomes the first Brazilian orchestra ever to appear on a DG recording.
Brazil is further represented by Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas brasileiras No. 4 and gems by Mozart Camargo Guarnieri and Oscar Lorenzo Fernández. Meanwhile, from Argentina we also hear music by Ginastera (Milonga and Second Piano Sonata) as well as a Tango, not from Buenos Aires but composed by Trifonov himself.
Much of the inspiration for this album came to the pianist during an extended stay in his wife’s homeland. “My family and I were isolated for months in the Dominican Republic during the Covid pandemic,” he recalls. “It was during that lockdown period that I finally found time to discover a wealth of outstanding Latin American piano music.” From the Caribbean, he has chosen contrasting works by contemporary Dominican composer Michel Camilo and his compatriots Juan Francisco García and Rafael Bullumba Landestoy, and two pieces by Cuba’s most famous composer, Ernesto Lecuona.
There is one more stop on Trifonov’s journey – Peru – whose music is represented by Gabriela Lena Frank’s Sonata andina. A US-born composer with Peruvian roots, Frank was recently awarded the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her orchestral work Picaflor: A future myth. “As with many composers featured on this album,” Trifonov explains, “Frank blends elements of western classical and folk music traditions in complex, captivating ways: the solo piano [in Sonata andina] evokes traditional Bolivian drums and Peruvian flutes, and imitates Latin guitars and instruments such as the marimba. It’s a colourful musical tapestry.”
Daniil Trifonov will perform this repertoire extensively in the 2026–27 season. Upcoming highlights include a Latin American tour with the Berliner Philharmoniker and performances of Cuadros del Sur in Europe. Full touring details here.
