Composer: Johannes Brahms
- 4 Ballades, Op. 10
- Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5
- 5 Studies, Anh. 1a No. 1: No. 5, Chaconne von J.S. Bach (After J.S. Bach's BWV 1004)
Alexandre Kantorow, piano
Date: 2021
Label: BIS
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Throughout this Brahms recital, Alexandre Kantorow throws down an epic gauntlet, casting his sights on dynamic and dramatic extremes. The pianist broods over the first Ballade’s Andante, and builds the central triplet section with such overwhelming ferocity that the music runs away from him. However, he is one of the few pianists to successfully articulate the staccatos as a true sotto voce upon the main theme’s reiteration. No 2’s distinctions between legato and detached phrases gain considerable intensity through his liberal yet clearly thought-out rubato.
Kantorow adopts a slower tempo for No 3’s central F sharp major episode, substituting desolation for delicacy; I find the pianist’s unorthodox gambit plausible, although others may not. No 4’s phrases seem to float independently of each other in an improvisatory state of mind, oblivious to bar lines. Imagine a similarly free-floating yet less hectic parallel to the partial recording of this piece featuring Brahms’s associate Ilona Eibenschütz and you’ll understand what I mean.
The pianist zeros in more on the maestoso than on the Allegro in the first movement of the F minor Sonata, milking the second theme for all its worth and extracting every ounce of meaning from the repeated triplet figurations. By contrast, he takes the slow movement’s Andante espressivo to be an animated alla breve, where the long lines gorgeously sing out no matter how transparent or thick the textures may be.
Lest we forget that this work was composed by a confident 20-year-old, Kantorow dives into the Scherzo with appropriate abandon. While the Intermezzo transpires beautifully and sensitively, Kantorow’s labelmate Jonathan Plowright’s far slower interpretation better captures the music’s anguished subtext. Likewise, Plowright’s fusion of power and transparency conveys a unified and classically poised finale, whereas Kantorow’s more volatile, exploratory reading often gets too loud too soon.
For all Kantorow’s impressive finger independence, his Bach/Brahms Chaconne for the left hand gets bogged down in detail, lacking the architectural discipline and cumulative momentum that pianists as disparate as Leon Fleisher, Daniil Trifonov, Ivan Ilić and Idil Biret bring to this transcription. In short, this generously filled release stands out for the Ballades and 3/5ths of the Sonata.
-- Jed Distler, Gramophone
More reviews:
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Johannes Brahms (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer and pianist. In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable. Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished. Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters, with a highly romantic nature embedded within.
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Alexandre Kantorow (born 20 May 1997) is a French pianist whose father is the violinist and conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow. He studied with Pierre-Alain Volondat, Igor Lazko, Frank Braley and Haruko Ueda, and is currently studying with Rena Shereshevskaya at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. Described by Gramophone as a "fire-breathing virtuoso with a poetic charm" and by Fanfare as "Liszt reincarnated", he won the first prize, gold medal, and Grand Prix at the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019, being the first French winner in the history of the competition.
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