VFO / VASILY PETRENKO / ALEXANDRE KANTOROW
Program
ALEXEY SHOR (1970-)
Suite after Crystal Palace
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 44
Interval
SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Romeo and Juliet, excerpts from Suites Nos. 1 and 2, Op. 64
Kantorow plays Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Romeo and Juliet very nearly never saw the light of day. Rejected by the two leading Russian ballet institutions (the Bolshoi, which deemed the work undanceable, and the Mariinsky, which rejected its plot), it has since enjoyed a true renaissance thanks to the three Suites the composer drew from it, as well as the variety of choreographies (from Lavrovsky’s original to the French version by Nureyev) that today do justice to the score’s rhythmic inventiveness and melodic genius.
Quite different is the fate of Tchaikovsky’s Second Concerto: initially destined for great success, its reception ultimately proved mixed, and the Concerto never managed to emerge from the shadow of the First. It must be said that its symphonic proportions and the complexity of its developments have discouraged more than one pianist. Alexandre Kantorow needed courage to champion this work before the jury of the competition dedicated to the composer. But the success was unparalleled, propelling the young pianist onto the world’s greatest international stages.
