Slava Kantcheff - Brahms & Schumann: Piano Works (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2: I. Allegro non troppo, ma energico
02. Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2: II. Andante con espressione
03. Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2: III. Scherzo. Allegro - Trio. Poco più moderato
04. Piano Sonata No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 2: IV. Finale. Sostenuto - Allegro non troppo e rubato
05. 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117: No. 1 in E-Flat Major. Andante moderato
06. 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117: No. 2 in B-Flat Minor. Andante non troppo e con molto espressione
07. 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117: No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor. Andante con moto
08. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 1, Impromptu
09. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 2, Leides Ahnung
10. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 3, Scherzino
11. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 4, Walzer
12. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 5, Fantasietanz
13. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 6, Wiegenliedchen
14. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 7, Ländler
15. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 8, Lied ohne Ende
16. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 9, Impromptu
17. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 10, Walzer
18. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 11, Romanze
19. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 12, Burla
20. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 13, Larghetto
21. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 14, Vision
22. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 15, Walzer
24. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 17, Elfe
25. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 18, Botschaft
26. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 19, Fantasiestück
27. Albumblätter, Op. 124: No. 20, Canon

In 1984 the pianist Slava Kantheff met the Austrian chansonnier, guitarist and author Peter Horton and they fell in love. The very next year, for Thomas Gottschalk’s TV programme “Na Sowas”, they spontaneously came up in a live broadcast with Peter Horton’s “Freaky Fingers”, put together within a week. After that they were to be seen in just about all the celebrated TV shows at home and abroad. It was the start of a musical and personal journey that was to last for decades.

Within a very short time they had developed a concert repertoire which, for the first time in the history of music, brought together the guitar and piano as acoustic instruments that each existed in their own right as compositional and interpretive vehicles. As a result, the duo developed their own characteristic timbre.

Slava Kantcheff’s inspired piano playing, backed by her experience as a concert pianist, in concord with Peter Horton’s skills as a guitarist and composer – all this, despite or because of the unorthodox instrumental combination, created new realms of sound.

Looking back, Slava Kantcheff senses how much her intensive collaboration and music-making with Peter Horton have inspired her own personal journey through life and her interpretation of classical compositions.

Her mastery of timbre and touch, this sense of “sticking” to the keys and as it were “merging into” the concert grand and being at one with her instrument, have been shaped and heightened by the almost Brazilian rhythmic challenges of Peter Horton’s compositions.

On September 22, 2023, Peter passed away. It was his wish that Slava should once more record a purely classical album. And so it was that this recording came about at the end of 2024 in the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche (a former church building in the Munich Residenz), which has a special resonance for both artists.

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