Alexandre Kantorow: Piano Recital
April 17, 2026 8:00 pm
Tickets
RESERVED SEATING
Adult: $84-$60
Student: $25
Youth (18 & under): $15
Alexandre Kantorow is a pianist who can’t be missed. The first French pianist to win first prize at the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, and performing with orchestras like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre Nationale de France, Kantorow is a rising star. In 2024, he gained worldwide popularity from his performance of “Jeux d’Eau” in the rain during the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, after which he was deemed “heroic and unflappable” by France3.
His performances of nearly every iconic work for piano have garnered him acclaim, with Gramophone magazine describing his playing as an “outstanding example of virtuosity and artistry, displaying both skill and sensitivity from start to finish.” Kantorow’s program explores multiple corners of piano repertoire, beginning with Liszt’s interpretation of Bach and concluding with Beethoven’s final piano sonata.
Franz Liszt – Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen S. 180 (Variations on Bach’s BWV 12)
Nikolay Medtner – Piano Sonata in F minor Op. 5
Frédéric Chopin – Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45
Alexander Scriabin – Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 70
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 32
Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen S. 180 (Variations on Bach’s BWV 12) – Franz Liszt
Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 5 – Nikolay Medtner
Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45 – Frédéric Chopin
Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 70 – Alexander Scriabin
Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111 – Ludwig van Beethoven
The program begins with Liszt’s variations on Bach’s BWV 12, a cantata titled Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen. These variations are based on the chromatic bass line from the cantata’s opening chorus, which eventually expands into thirty variations. Liszt composed this work at a crossroads in his life, allowing the translation of “weeping, plaints, sorrows, fears” to ring specifically true.
One of Medtner’s first compositions follows: his Piano Sonata in F minor, a work that displays as much confidence as it does Romanticism. With nods to Bach’s structures, Liszt’s boisterousness, and Rachmaninoff’s grand writing, this sonata sits as a bridge between two very different and very compelling works.
Also featured is Frédéric Chopin’s dream-like Prelude in C-sharp Minor, with its color and improvisatory nature, followed by Scriabin’s Sonata No. 10, known as his “trill sonata” or “insect sonata”. Scriabin commented on this work “My Tenth Sonata is a sonata of insects. Insects are born from the sun… they are the sun’s.”
Beethoven’s final piano sonata concludes the program; sitting with only two movements Beethoven toys with majestic, stormy, and dramatic themes throughout the work.
Please note: program, venue, time, and artist are subject to change.
Artists
Alexandre Kantorow
Alexandre Kantorow has been hailed by critics as the ‘young tsar of the piano’ (Classica) and ‘Liszt reincarnated’ (Fanfare). He is in demand at the highest level across the globe and as such has performed with many of the world’s finest orchestras, such as the Berlin Philharmoniker, Boston Symphony and Budapest Festival orchestras and with conductors including Klaus Mäkelä, Manfred Honeck, Jaap van Zweden, Ivan Fischer, Vasily Petrenko and Sir Antonio Pappano. In 2019, at the age of 22, he was the first French pianist to win the Gold Medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition as well as the Grand Prix, awarded only three times before in the competition’s history and in 2024 he was the recipient of the Gilmore Artist Award. Gramophone magazine has described him as “the real deal, a fire-breathing virtuoso with a poetic charm and innate stylistic mastery”.
In recital, Kantorow appears in all the major concert halls across the globe, such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Bozar in Brussels and Tokyo Opera City, and festivals such as Edinburgh, Salzburg, La Roque d’Anthéron, Piano aux Jacobins, Verbier, Rheingau and Klavierfest Ruhr. Chamber music is one his great pleasures and he performs regularly with artists such as Janine Jansen, Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon, Daniel Lozakovick and Matthias Goerne.
Highlights of Kantorow’s 2024/2025 season include his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and in recital at Chicago’s Symphony Center, a European tour with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, performances of Brahms’ Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and a tour of Europe with the Orchestre Metropolitain and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He will also perform solo recitals across Europe and Asia, including performances in Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Kantorow records exclusively with BIS, to great critical acclaim and he has received numerous awards and accolades for his recordings, including several Diapason d’Or and Choc de l’Année (Classica), Trophée Radio Classique and Victoires de la Musique Classique Recording of the Year. His new recording of works by Brahms and Schubert will be released on 1 November 2024.
Kantorow is a laureate of the Safran Foundation and Banque Populaire. In 2020 and 2024 he won the Victoires de la Musique Classique Instrumental Soloist of the Year. In 2022, he received the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture and in 2024, he was awarded the medal of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite by the French President, Emmanuel Macron. Born in France and of French-British heritage, Kantorow studied with Pierre-Alain Volondat, Igor Lazko, Franck Braley and Rena Shereshevskaya.
Mechanics Hall
321 Main Street Worcester, MA 01608
Mechanics Hall, built in 1857, is a four-story structure that remains an incredible venue for live music. Renowned for its acoustics, it is located in downtown Worcester just blocks away from Route 290.
SEATING
Seating in the floor level of the Great Hall is accessible via elevator, by the Waldo St. entrance to the building. The balcony is not accessible by elevator. Read more about accessibility here.
We suggest parties with small children sit in our side balconies whenever possible, as they provide the best view for small children who may not have a clear view from the flat seating on the floor level.
Balcony seating has less leg room. If you’re a taller patron, we recommend floor seating or choosing an aisle seat in the balcony section.
PARKING
The closest parking garage is Pearl Elm Garage (20 Pearl St.) Music Worcester offers free parking for Mechanics Hall presentations – read more here. There is also on-street parking on neighboring streets.
321 Main Street
321 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608, USA