In 2019, at the age of 22, Alexandre Kantorow became the first French pianist to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, as well as the Grand Prix, an exceptional distinction awarded only three times in the competition’s history. Acclaimed by critics, who have hailed him as the “reincarnation of Liszt” (Fanfare), he has since received numerous awards and performed on the world’s most prestigious stages.
In 2024, he made history once again, becoming not only the first French pianist to win the Gilmore Artist Award, one of the most prestigious international piano awards, presented every four years, but also its youngest-ever recipient.
Alexandre Kantorow regularly collaborates with some of the leading conductors of his generation, including Iván Fischer, Antonio Pappano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Klaus Mäkelä, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Manfred Honeck, Teodor Currentzis and John Eliot Gardiner.
He is a regular guest soloist with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, with which he undertakes international tours.
As a recitalist, Alexandre Kantorow is also regularly invited to perform at leading international venues, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, as well as Bozar in Brussels.
The 2026/27 season will take him to four continents for several international tours. In China, he reunites with Paavo Järvi and the Estonian Festival Orchestra; in Japan, he performs with the NHK Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tugan Sokhiev. In Europe, he appears with Antonio Pappano and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, as well as with Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, before joining the latter for a tour of the United States, including a concert with the New York Philharmonic. Also in the United States, he opens the Philadelphia Orchestra’s season alongside Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He will also perform with the Cleveland Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, as well as with Klaus Mäkelä and the Orchestre de Paris.
A passionate chamber musician, Alexandre shares the stage with Sergey Khachatryan, Janine Jansen, with whom he undertakes two European tours, and Liya Petrova.
He is also co-artistic director of Musikfest, the Rencontres musicales de Nîmes and the Pianopolis Festival in Angers.
Alexandre Kantorow records exclusively for BIS. His recordings have received widespread international critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the 2025 Gramophone Piano Award for his album devoted to Brahms and Schubert.
In 2024, he was appointed Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite by the President of the French Republic, having previously been appointed Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture. In July of the same year, he performed Ravel’s Jeux d’eau at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Alexandre Kantorow studied with Pierre-Alain Volondat, Igor Lazko, Frank Braley and Rena Shereshevskaya.