Alexandre Kantorow, born in 1997, is the son of French conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow, who leads the Tapiola Sinfonietta here in not only the two common piano concertos of Franz Liszt, but a third one, for piano and strings and published only in 1915, called Malédiction. This was not Liszt's title, but was a description written into a section of the manuscript. It's thought of as a youthful work from Liszt's early 20s, but in fact all three of the concertos heard here had their genesis in the 1830s; Liszt kept working on ...
Read More
Alexandre Kantorow, born in 1997, is the son of French conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow, who leads the Tapiola Sinfonietta here in not only the two common piano concertos of Franz Liszt, but a third one, for piano and strings and published only in 1915, called Malédiction. This was not Liszt's title, but was a description written into a section of the manuscript. It's thought of as a youthful work from Liszt's early 20s, but in fact all three of the concertos heard here had their genesis in the 1830s; Liszt kept working on those numbered 1 and 2, and abandoned Malédiction, which was written for piano and strings because he didn't feel confident in handling an orchestra at that point. It is more purely virtuosic than the other two, which integrate piano and orchestra better, and it has an attractive experimental quality. Malédiction is not recorded often, and it's worth having in this sprightly performance. The two major Liszt concertos are also enjoyable in a light, transparent way. These are not the...
Read Less
