01. 2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79 No. 1 in B Minor
02. Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2 I. Allegro non troppo, ma energico
03. Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2 II. Andante con espressione
04. Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2 III. Scherzo. Allegro – Trio. Poco piu moderato
05. Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2 IV. Finale. Sostenuto – Allegro non troppo e rubato
06. Rhapsody, Op. 1, Sz. 26
07. Hungarian Rhapsody in A Minor, S. 244 No. 11

In 2019, at the age of 22, Alexandre Kantorow became the first French pianist to win the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition. Before then he had released three acclaimed albums, 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’.
The present recital, his first release since the Tchaikovsky Competition, 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.