Program

Johann Sebastian Bach/Franz Liszt, Prelude in F Minor after Bach's cantata BWV 12, Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen

Nikolai Medtner, Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 5

I. Allegro

II. Intermezzo: Allegro

III. Largo divoto

IV. Finale: Allegro risoluto

Frédéric Chopin, Prelude No. 25 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45

Charles-Valentin Alkan, Préludes, Op. 31

No. 8, "La Chanson de la folle au bord de la mer" ("The Song of the Mad Woman on the Shore")

Alexander Scriabin, Vers la flamme, op. 72

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111

1. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato

2. Arietta con variazioni

Alexandre Kantorow in recital: Chopin, Medtner, Alkan, Scriabin, Beethoven

Verbier Festival 2026

Cast

Alexandre Kantorow — Piano

Program notes

Called "Liszt reincarnated," the immensely gifted French pianist Alexandre Kantorow returns to the Swiss Alps for a magnificent solo recital at the 2026 Verbier Festival. A program of breathtaking musical tableaux awaits, including Liszt's variations on Bach's cantata "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" (Weeping, lamenting, worrying, fearing), which culminates in a glimmer of hope amid despair; the deliciously dark Chanson de la folle au bord de la mer by Alkan; and the mystical, apocalyptic visions of Scriabin's Vers la flamme. In gorgeous contrast to these tragic pieces, Kantorow offers up the first Piano Sonata by Medtner, the elegant Op. 45 Prelude by Chopin, and the very last of Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, the mighty and technically demanding Op. 111.