With piano concerto no. 1 in d minor op. 15 by Johannes Brahms and piano concerto no. 2 in b major op. 18 by Hermann...

With piano concerto no. 1 in d minor op. 15 by Johannes Brahms and piano concerto no. 2 in b major op. 18 by Hermann Goetz, pianist Andrea Kauten juxtaposes the works of two masters, who strike the musical-historical situation in the vacuum of the Beethoven succession illuminated in the second half of the 19th century. Both composers see themselves as traditionalists who want to create something new in proven forms. There is, on the one hand, the genre of a young composer who, early on, too soon as a harbinger of hope, mercilessly fails the work. And second, the work of a regionally recognized talent, which can attract the attention of the great German music world before his untimely death. Trained from the age of seven by the Basle pianist Albert Engel, the Swiss-Hungarian pianist Andrea Kauten became a finalist at the Jecklin Competition in Zurich at 13 and won first prize at the Swiss Youth Music Competition one year later before enrolling at the Basle Academy of Music. A scholarship from the Federation of Migros Cooperatives Switzerland then enabled her to continue her studies at the famous Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. This opportunity, and the brilliant combination of technique and expressivity she admires in Liszt’s music, have left an indelible mark on her playing. Her close blend of sensitivity and consummate technique enables her to coax unimaginable sounds from the concert grand piano. Her playing is poetic, subdued, richly expressive, but always eminently creative and always in keeping with the demands of the music.