Having watched the semi-finals of the Queen Elisabeth violin competition in Brussels, I noticed that the conductor there was Jean-Jacques Kantorow. As he was a solo-violinist for many years, he was a perfect accompanist for all the candidates in that contest. Almost at the same time someone attended me to a new CD by his piano playing son Alexandre Kantorow, who performed three of the five piano concerto’s bij Saint-Saens. Very fine performances and the not so often recorded third receives the best and most convincing performance I have ever heard! I thought it would be a nice idea to combine Jean-Jacques Kantorow’s recording of violin works by Saint-Saens with the new recording of him and his son.
Track 01-03 Piano Concerto No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 29 (1869)
Track 04-06 Violin Concerto No.3 in B minor, Op.61 (1880)
Track 07-08 Piano Concerto No.4 in C minor, Op. 44 (1875)
Track 09 Caprice d’après l’Étude en forme de Valse, Op.52 (for violin and orchestra, 1872)
Track 10 Caprice andalous, Op.122 (for violin and orchestra, 1904)
Track 11 Prélude from ‘Le déluge’, Op.45 (1875)
Track 12-14 Piano Concerto No.5 in F major, Op. 103, ‘L’Égyptien’ (1896)
Tapiola Sinfonietta
Alexandre Kantorow, piano (Tracks 01-03, 07-08 and12-14)
Jean-Jacques Kantorow, violin (Tracks 04-06, 09,10 and 11)
Jean-Jacques Kantorow, conductor (Tracks 01-03, 07-08 and 12-14)
Kees Bakels, conductor (Tracks 04-06, 09,10 and 11)
