Jean-Jacques Kantorow
{{short description|French violinist and conductor (born 1945)}}
File:FolleJournée2009 JeanJacquesKantorow.jpg
Jean-Jacques Kantorow (born 3 October 1945) is a French violinist and conductor.
His son is the pianist Alexandre Kantorow.
Biography
Kantorow was born in Cannes, France, into a family of Russian-Jewish{{Cite web|url=https://www.francemusique.fr/emissions/les-grands-entretiens/jean-jacques-kantorow-violoniste-et-chef-d-orchestre-1-5|title=Jean-Jacques Kantorow, violoniste et chef d'orchestre (1/5): "Les origines, on n'en parlait pas"|date=11 October 2021 }} origin. From the age of 13 he studied at the Paris Conservatoire with René Benedetti, and in 1960 won the first violin prize. In the 1960s he won ten major international prizes, including first prizes in the Carl Flesch Competition (London), the (Genoa) Paganini Competition, and the Geneva International Competition. Since the 1970s he has been noted for his solo performances in a very wide range of repertoire (from Baroque music to contemporary), and as a chamber music performer. His recordings have won many awards, including the Grand Prix du Disque and the Grand Prix de l’Académie Franz Liszt.
He held senior positions at the Strasbourg and Rotterdam conservatories and at the Conservatoire de Paris, until his retirement from conservatoire violin pedagogy. He continues to teach privately and to give master-classes.
According to Grove Music Online, "Kantorow has an infallible technique and a beauty of tone which combines the best features of the French and Russian schools."Campbell, Margaret. Kantorow, Jean-Jacques. In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/42223 (accessed June 10, 2009). He plays a Stradivarius attributed violin, the ‘ex-Leopold Auer’, dated 1699.Kurzbauer, H. (1988) 'Diverse Interests', The Strad, xcix pp.776–9
In the 1980s he began a separate career as conductor, becoming principal conductor of the Auvergne Chamber Orchestra and later the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. He has longstanding conducting engagements with other European orchestras, including the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Tapiola Sinfonietta of Finland, the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. From 2004 to 2008 he was principal director of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada in Spain.
In 2019, his son Alexandre Kantorow won the First Prize and Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition piano category.{{Cite web|url=https://www.francemusique.fr/actualite-musicale/alexandre-kantorow-remporte-le-1er-prix-de-piano-du-concours-tchaikovski-74508|title=Alexandre Kantorow remporte le 1er prix de piano du Concours Tchaïkovski|last=Laspière|first=Victor Tribot|date=2019-06-27|website=France Musique|language=fr|access-date=2019-06-28}}
Selected recordings
- Camille Saint-Sëns, Symphony in A major, Symphony n° 1 in E flat major op.2, Symphony n °2 in A minor op.55, Organ Symphony n°3 in C minor op.78, Symphony "Urbs Roma" in F, Thierry Escaich, organ, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège conducted by Jean-Jacques Kantorow. 2 SACD Bis 2021. Diapason d’or
References
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External links
- [{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=q32553/biography|pure_url=yes}} Biography at allmusic]
- [http://www.naxos.com/conductorinfo/Jean_Jacques_Kantorow_32062/32062.htm Biography at Naxos] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203175428/http://www.naxos.com/conductorinfo/Jean_Jacques_Kantorow_32062/32062.htm |date=2008-12-03 }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090208222724/http://agencedianedusaillant.com/fiche.php?id=1 Agency website]
- J-J Kantorow tours Southern Africa, 1975. Photo dedicated to Hans Adler, tour organiser.[http://classicalmusicianstoza.blogspot.ca/2014/06/jean-jacques-kantorow-french-violinist.html]
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Category:20th-century French violinists
Category:20th-century French male musicians
Category:French male classical violinists
Category:French male conductors (music)
Category:Conservatoire de Paris alumni
Category:Paganini Competition prize-winners
Category:Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition prize-winners
Category:21st-century French conductors (music)
Category:21st-century French violinists