Alexandre Kantorow - Brahms: Piano Works '2021

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. 4 Ballades, Op. 10: No. 1, Andante - Poco più moto - Allegro
02. 4 Ballades, Op. 10: No. 2, Andante - Allegro non troppo
03. 4 Ballades, Op. 10: No. 3, Intermezzo
04. 4 Ballades, Op. 10: No. 4, Andante con moto - Più lento
05. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: I. Allegro maestoso
06. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: II. Andante espressivo
07. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: III. Scherzo
08. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: IV. Intermezzo (Rückblick)
09. Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5: V. Finale
10. 5 Studies, Anh. 1a No. 1: No. 5, Chaconne von J.S. Bach (After J.S. Bach's
BWV 1004)

In 2019, when Alexandre Kantorow, at the age of 22, became the first French
pianist to win the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky competition, his programme
included no less than three works by Johannes Brahms. Two of these, Piano Sonata
No. 2 and the Rhapsody in B minor, he went on to record for release on his
previous, highly praised recital disc, which was awarded distinctions such as
Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice, Diapason d’Or, and Choc de
Classica. The Brahms interpretations won Kantorow particular praise – the
Guardian (UK) described them as ‘magisterial’ while the website
ResMusica placed his sonata ‘among the great reference recordings of the
piece – if not the modern one.’

There is much to look forward to, then, when Kantorow releases an all-Brahms
album with a playing time of no less than 85 minutes. He opens with music by a
composer of a similar age as himself: Brahms wrote the Four Ballades in 1854
while only 21 years old, taking up a fashionable genre introduced by Chopin as
late as 1840. The set is followed by the even earlier Sonata No. 3 in E minor
which forms the centre of the programme. The sonata is of almost symphonic
dimensions and it was indeed, along with its predecessors, famously described as
a disguised symphony by no one less than Robert Schumann. To bring this stormy,
impassioned album to a close, Kantorow has chosen a later, and contrasting work:
With a lifelong admiration for Bach, Brahms in 1879 made a piano arrangement,
for the left hand alone, of the iconic Chaconne from Partita No. 2 for solo
violin – a composition that Brahms himself described as ‘a whole
world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful impressions’.

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