In 2019, at age 22, Alexandre Kantorow became the first French pianist to win the Tchaikovsky Competition's First Prize, as well as theGrand Prix, awarded only three times before in the competition's history.Hailed by critics as the “reincarnationof Liszt” (Fanfare Magazine), he received the Gilmore Artist Award 2024,considered one of the most prestigious international piano prizes, and awarded only every 4 years. He is the first Frenchartist and youngestwinner of the Gilmore Artist Award.
Alexandre Kantorow began his career at an early age,making his debut at La Folle Journée de Nantes with Sinfonia Varsovia at age 16. Since then, he hasperformed with some of the world's most prestigious orchestras, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with ManfredHoneck, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Vasily Petrenko at the BBC Proms in London, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with John EliotGardiner, Mariinsky Orchestrawith Valery Gergiev and Budapest Festival Orchestrawith Iván Fischer. Alexandre Kantorow has also performed on prestigious international tours with the Hong KongPhilharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden, as well as with the Orchestre Nationalde France and Cristian Măcelaru.
In recital, he performs in major concert halls such asCarnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium in New York, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw in its Master Pianistsseries, Vienna's Konzerthaus, Philharmonie de Paris, Brussels' Bozar, London's Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall,Tokyo's City Opera... and in the most prestigious festivals including La Roque d'Anthéron, Ravinia Festival, VerbierFestival and Klavier-Festival Ruhr.
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Highlights of the 2024/2025season include Alexandre's debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, a European tour with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, underTugan Sokhiev, debut with the Orchestre Metropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He will also perform Brahms' PianoConcertos Nos. 1 and 2 with John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. He will make hisrecital debut in China, including performances in Beijing and Shanghai as part of an Asian tour. In chamber music,he will perform with Janine Jansen and tour with Gautier Capuçon.
Alexandre Kantorow recordsexclusively for BIS. In 2022,he won two Diapason d'Or de l'Annéefor his Brahmsdisc and his Saint-Saëns disc (concertos 1 and 2).The latter disc, which finalizes the complete set of concertos recorded with the Tapiola Sinfonietta under Jean-Jacques Kantorow, has been hailedby critics as a “benchmark version of the Saint- Saëns concertos” (Resmusica). It was alsoselected by Gramophone magazine in their “Editor's choice”. His two previousrecordings (Saint-Saëns concertos3, 4 and 5, and solo works by Brahms,Bartok and Liszt)were both awardedDiapason d'Or and Choc Classica of the year in 2019 and 2020. Gramophonemagazine describes his performance as “anotheroutstanding example of his virtuosity and artistry, displaying both skill and sensitivity from start to finish”. His recital recording“à la Russe” also won numerous awardsand distinctions in 2017, includingChoc de l'Année(Classica), Diapason Découverte, Supersonic (Pizzicata) and CD des Doppelmonats (PianoNews).
He is a laureate of the Safran Foundation and BanquePopulaire. In 2020, he won two awards at the Victoires de la MusiqueClassique: Recording of the Year and Instrumental Soloist of the Year, the latter also in 2024.
In 2022, he became artisticdirector of the “Les Rencontres Musicales de Nîmes”festival with violinist Liya Petrova and cellist AurélienPascal.
In 2024, Alexandre Kantorow was made Chevalier del'Ordre National du Mérite by the French President. Two years earlier, in 2022, he had been honored with the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettresby the French Minister of Culture. In July 2024, Alexandre performed at the opening ceremony of the ParisOlympic Games.
Alexandre Kantorow studiedwith Pierre-Alain Volondat,Igor Lazko, Frank Braley and Rena Shereshevskaya.
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