Hardly a literary work has influenced human notions of the otherworld so profoundly as Dante Alighieri’s »Divine Comedy« of 1321. To reach paradise, one must first descend to the depths of hell in order to pass through purgatory and attain redemption in heaven. This trajectory will be traced by pianist Alexandre Kantorow, the latest winner of the renowned Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, in his concert. Thus, Franz Liszt’s arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach’s »Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen« was an attempt at

coming to terms with the death of his daughter, while Alexander Scriabin’s »Vers la flamme, poème« threatens the ineluctable, fiery destruction of the world – a subject more topical than ever, given today’s climate crisis. Robert Schumann’s first piano sonata veers between lightness of touch and the torments of love: as an expression of intimate affection, it was dedicated to Clara, who was to become his wife. The recital ends with Liszt’s so-called »Dante Sonata«, which summarizes the evening’s trajectory in one

single work.

This concert will also be transmitted acoustically to the court of the Ludwigsburg Palace. 

Image © Sasha Gusov