Alexandre Kantorow owes part of his success to the intuition of René Martin, the dynamic creator of “La Folle Journée” in Nantes and the Festival de La Roque d’Anthéron. Born in 1997 into a family of musicians, Kantorow made his debut at the age of sixteen in Nantes and immediately impressed with his transcendental virtuosity. Six years later, in 2019, he achieved recognition with a historic victory (the first French winner) at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. His preferred repertoire, as demonstrated by the program he brings to Bologna Festival, remains that of the late 19th century: Brahms, Liszt, and two forays into the early 20th century with Rachmaninov and Bartók.