It has been a long time since Igor Levit was given the Gilmore Artist Award in 2018. The delay was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented the global search for a new pianist in 2022. Pierre van der Westhuizen, a pianist, a member of the Gilmore Artist search committee and the executive director of the Gilmore Piano Festival, flew to Italy this summer to surprise their final candidate with the news. He is Alexandre Kantorow, a 26 year-old French pianist with an enviably relaxed and flexible approach to his instrument. Van der Westhuizen spoke with Cara Lieurance about how the secret search was carried out and how they decided upon Kantorow as the winner.
At 2 pm on Sunday, Sep 17, Kantorow will take the stage in the Dalton Center Recital Hall at Western Michigan University's Irving S. Gilmore School of Music. He'll perform music of Brahms and Liszt, and talk with van der Westhuizen and host Brian McCreath of GBH Radio, in a free livestream through The Gilmore's website.
