Thursday, November 12th, at 8:30 PM at the Auditorium Agnelli
Born in 1997, French pianist Alexandre Kantorow makes his Lingotto Musica debut on Thursday 12 November 2026, alongside Sir Antonio Pappano, who returns to Lingotto with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The programme brings together two masterpieces of the late Romantic repertoire: Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7.
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Founded in 1981 by a group of young musicians from the European Community Youth Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe has developed a distinctive identity on the international music scene. Without a permanent principal conductor, it has worked with some of the greatest conductors of our time. Claudio Abbado was its leading mentor in the early years, while Nikolaus Harnoncourt played a key role in its development.
Sir Antonio Pappano
One of the most compelling and sought-after conductors on the international stage, Pappano trained as a pianist and répétiteur before honing his conducting skills at leading opera houses in Europe and North America. His early career also took him to the Bayreuth Festival, where he worked as Daniel Barenboim’s assistant. His broad and profound knowledge of operatic and symphonic repertoire makes him equally excellent both at opera houses and concert halls. Conductor Laureate of the Royal Opera House and Conductor Emeritus of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, in the 2026–27 season he will tour Asia and United States with the London Symphony Orchestra, and Europe with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Alexandre Kantorow
French pianist Alexandre Kantorow won the Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and Grand Prix at just twenty-two years old. Son of the violinist and conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow, he showed an early gift for performance, appearing at the La Folle Journée festival in Nantes at the age of sixteen. In 2024, he received the Gilmore Artist Award, one of the most prestigious honours in the piano world. His exclusive recordings for BIS Records include critically acclaimed recital and concerto albums, among them the complete Saint-Saëns piano concertos and recordings devoted to Brahms.
Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 15, by Johannes Brahms
Initially conceived in 1854 as a sonata for two pianos, then reworked as a symphony before taking shape as a concerto, Brahms’ First Piano Concerto emerged from a period of profound personal turmoil. Against the backdrop of Robert Schumann’s mental breakdown and Brahms’s close bond with Clara Schumann, the work reveals the young composer’s struggle to contain its dramatic force within a fixed form. It premiered in Hanover on 22 January 1859, with Brahms at the piano and Joseph Joachim conducting. Just days later, however, it was met with boos in Leipzig. Time would reverse that verdict, establishing the concerto as one of the great achievements of the Romantic repertoire. Its dramatic, heroic spirit recalls Beethoven, while moments of introspection and reverie evoke Schumann.
Symphony No. 7, Op. 70, by Antonín Dvořák
A sombre roll of timpani beneath a hushed theme in the violas and cellos opens Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony. Composed in 1884–85 for the Philharmonic Society of London, the work was premiered at St James’s Hall under the composer’s own baton. Often regarded as the darkest of Dvořák’s symphonies, its dense orchestration and meditative, at times tragic, character bring it closer to the world of Brahms than to the exuberance of the Slavonic Dances. Brahmsian influences can be heard throughout the score, leading to a majestic conclusion in a major key.