CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Cancelled: Alexandre Kantorow, Piano
Feel the excitement of pianist Alexandre Kantorow—“a fire-breathing virtuoso with a poetic charm and innate stylistic mastery” (Gramophone)—performing a bravura recital. Winner of the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition gold medal and Grand Prix, all facets of his mastery are displayed in showpieces of Liszt and Stravinsky, a rhapsodic Fauré work, and the majestic five-movement sonata by Brahms. Daniil Trifonov is the only other pianist who has won the Grand Prix—come see Kantorow write the next chapter in Carnegie Hall’s great keyboard legacy.
Performers
Alexandre Kantorow, Piano
Program
BRAHMS Rhapsody in B Minor, Op. 79, No. 1
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 12 in B-flat Minor, "Chasse-Neige"
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 6 in D-flat Major, Op. 63
STRAVINSKY Three Movements from The Firebird (arr. Agosti)
BRAHMS Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately two hours, including one 20-minute intermission.In honor of the centenary of his birth, Carnegie Hall’s 2019–2020 season is dedicated to the memory of Isaac Stern in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to Carnegie Hall, arts advocacy, and the field of music.
At a Glance
BRAHMS Rhapsody in B Minor, Op. 79, No. 1
Brahms lavished as much craftsmanship on his short piano pieces as he did on his sonatas and concertos. The Op. 79 Rhapsody in B Minor epitomizes the Romantic genre of the character piece, a popular vehicle for distilling a particular mood or musical idea to its essence.
LISZT Transcendental Etude No. 12 in B-flat Minor, “Chasse neige”
The last of Liszt’s fiendishly difficult Transcendental Etudes—a miniature tonal sketch of a snowstorm—illustrates what Ferruccio Busoni called the Hungarian composer-pianist’s “poeticizing nature.” A seminal figure in the Romantic movement, Liszt prefigured many of the major compositional developments of the 20th century.
FAURÉ Nocturne No. 6 in D-flat Major, Op. 63
Fauré’s many nocturnes, impromptus, and barcarolles for solo piano reflect his admiration for the music of Chopin and Liszt. In the mid-1890s, when he wrote the Nocturne in D-flat Major, he was much in the public eye as a leader of the French avant-garde, yet he remained tight-lipped about the sources of his inspiration.
STRAVINSKY Three Movements from The Firebird
The kaleidoscopic, rhythmically energized music that Stravinsky wrote for the fairytale ballet The Firebird has been an audience favorite since it was first heard in Paris in 1910. Eighteen years later, Italian pianist Guido Agosti made equally brilliant keyboard transcriptions of three of the ballet’s best-known movements, including the viscerally exciting “Danse infernale” of the demonic King Kashchei.
BRAHMS Piano Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5
Written when the composer was only 20, the third and last of Brahms’s solo piano sonatas is characterized by a compelling blend of muscular majesty and tender lyricism. Although Brahms was no match for Chopin in terms of keyboard technique, his performances of his early sonatas mesmerized Schumann, who referred to them as “veiled symphonies.”