Brahms and Schubert

French pianist Alexandre Kantorow, winner of the Gold Medal at the 2019 Tchaikovsky competition,  presents his fourth solo album for BIS, and his ninth album overall. The centerpiece work is Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy, considered to be the most virtuosic composition in his entire output. Liszt transcriptions of five Schubert lieder include the song quoted in the Wanderer Fantasy, “Der Wanderer,” as well as some somber selections from Schwanenegesang, the hopeful “Frühlingsglaube,” and the poignant final song “Der Müller und der Bach” from Die schöne Müllerin. With this release, Kantorow also concludes his Brahms sonata cycle with the Sonata in C major, Op. 1. Previous recordings of his Brahms garnered critical acclaim, as well as awards such as Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice and the Diapason d’Or.