Alexandre Kantorow: Brahms, Bartók, Liszt (SACD)

In 2019, at the age of 22, Alexandre Kantorow became the first French pianist to win the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition. But already before then, he had released three acclaimed discs, awarded distinctions such as Diapason d'or de l'Année and Gramophone's Editor's Choice, and earning Kantorow descriptions ranging from "Liszt reincarnated" to "a firebreathing virtuoso with a poetic charm and innate stylistic mastery."

This album, his first release following his Tchaikovsky Competition victory, offers plenty of scope for virtuosity, poetry and charm, always filtered through an acute stylistic consciousness. The programme is constructed around three rhapsodies, a genre whose improvisatory character corresponds perfectly with the spirit of Romanticism but here interpreted by three highly distinct artistic temperaments: Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and Béla Bartók.

Brahms Rhapsody in B Minor, Op. 79, No. 1

Brahms Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 2

Bartók Rhapsody for Piano, Op. 1

Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 11 in A Minor

Discs: 1
Record Label: BIS
Release Date: October 2, 2020