Sonate pour piano Numéro 3 Chaconne 4 Ballades

Description

In 2019, when Alexandre Kantorow, at 22 years old, became the first French pianist to win the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, his program included no less than 3 works by Johannes Brahms. Two of them, the Piano Sonata No. 2 and the Rhapsody in B minor, were recorded for his latest album, a recital that has been awarded Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice, Diapason d’Or, and Choc de Classica. Kantorow's interpretations of Brahms have been particularly praised by critics: The Guardian (UK) describes them as "masterful," while the website ResMusica ranks this sonata "among the best recordings of this work, if not the best modern version." There is much to celebrate as Kantorow releases a full-Brahms album with a listening time of no less than 85 minutes. This album begins with music from a composer of the same age: at just 21 years old, Brahms wrote the Four Ballades in 1854, drawing inspiration from the very trendy genre introduced by Chopin in 1840. This collection is followed by the Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, composed even earlier, which represents the centerpiece of the program. This sonata is almost symphonic, and like the other earlier sonatas, Robert Schumann described it as a disguised symphony. To conclude this dynamic album, Kantorow chose a later work that contrasts with the others: Brahms composed a piano arrangement in 1879, for the left hand only, of the iconic Chaconne from Bach's Partita No. 2 for solo violin, which he admired throughout his life, a composition that Brahms himself described as "a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful impressions."