Cyprien Katsaris ( el, Κυπριανός Κατσαρής; born 5 May 1951) is a
French-
Cypriot virtuoso pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
,
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
and
composer. Amongst his teachers were
Monique de la Bruchollerie
Monique de La Bruchollerie (20 April 191515 December 1972) was a French classical concert pianist.
Career
La Bruchollerie was born in Paris. She came from a family of musicians, both François-Adrien Boieldieu and André Messager being among ...
, a student of
Emil von Sauer, who had been a pupil of
Franz Liszt. He is known for his refined sound, command of voicing, and virtually effortless physical mastery of technique. He is particularly notable as the first pianist to record the complete Liszt
transcriptions of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
's nine symphonies.
Biography
Katsaris was born in
Marseilles, France. Katsaris first began to play the piano when he was four, in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
where he grew up. His first teacher was Marie-Gabrielle Louwerse.
He studied piano at the
Paris Conservatoire
The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
with
Aline van Barentzen (a pupil of
Élie-Miriam Delaborde, son of
Charles-Valentin Alkan), and
Monique de la Bruchollerie
Monique de La Bruchollerie (20 April 191515 December 1972) was a French classical concert pianist.
Career
La Bruchollerie was born in Paris. She came from a family of musicians, both François-Adrien Boieldieu and André Messager being among ...
(a pupil of
Emil von Sauer, who was a pupil of
Franz Liszt). Briefly, Katsaris studied under
György Cziffra. In 1969, Katsaris won the piano First Prize at the Conservatoire. As well as piano, Katsaris studied chamber music with
René Leroy and
Jean Hubeau, and he won First Prize for this in 1970.
Katsaris gave his first public concert in Paris, at the
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 8 May 1966. He performed the
''Hungarian Fantasy'' by
Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
, with the Orchestre Symphonique d'Ile-de-France conducted by René-Pierre Chouteau. Since then he has gone on to perform with many orchestras and conductors fréquentes.
Katsaris was the first musician to record the complete Liszt
transcriptions of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
's nine symphonies – reissued by Warner Classics in 2006. He has also recorded the music of
Mozart,
Chopin,
Grieg, and other composers, including the rare piano version of
Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
's ''
Das Lied von der Erde
''Das Lied von der Erde'' ("The Song of the Earth") is an orchestral song cycle for two voices and orchestra written by Gustav Mahler between 1908 and 1909. Described as a symphony when published, it comprises six songs for two singers who alte ...
'' with
Brigitte Fassbaender
Brigitte Fassbaender (; born 3 July 1939), is a German mezzo-soprano opera singer and a stage director. From 1999 to 2012 she was intendant (managing director) of the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, Austria. She holds the title Kammersäng ...
and
Thomas Moser.
In 2001 Katsaris created his own recording label, Piano 21. In 2011, he performed a concert with French baritone
David Serero in Paris.
Awards
* 1970: Albert Roussel Foundation Prize (
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
)
* 1972: Prize-winner at the
Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium
* 1972: Alex de Vries Foundation Prize (
Antwerp)
* 1974: First Prize in the International
Cziffra Competition (
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
)
* 1977: International Young Interpreters Rostrum-
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
(
Bratislava)
* 1997:
Artist of UNESCO for Peace
* 2000: Knight of the
Order of Arts and Letters (
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
)
* 2001: Médaille Vermeil de la Ville de
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
* 2009: Commandeur de l’
Ordre de Mérite du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
* 2011: Nemitsas Prize (
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
)
Discography
Comprehensive discography of recordings under the label Piano 21:
[(en) ]
# KR 622 : Allegro. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
# P21 001 : Beethoven • The Creatures of Prometheus, op. 43
# P21 003 • (2 CD) : In Memoriam Chopin 150th Anniversary • Live at Carnegie Hall, New York City
# P21 004 : Sergei Bortkiewicz • Piano Works
# P21 007 : Bach Recital • Vol. 1 • Original Works
# P21 009-N : The Complete Mozart Piano Concertos • Vol. 1
# P21 010-N : The Complete Mozart Piano Concertos • Vol. 2
# P21 011-N : Live at Festival International d’Echternach (Luxembourg) • 7 July 1979 • A Film by Claude Chabrol
# P21 012-N : Live at Carnegie Hall, New York City • In Memoriam Chopin • 17 October 1999
# P21 013 : Bach & Sons • 5 Piano Concertos
# P21 014-A : Beethoven • Concerto No. 3 op. 37 • Sonatas Nos. 31 & 12
# P21 015 : A Tribute to Cyprus
# P21 016-A : Schumann • Vol. 1 • Live Recordings
# P21 017-N : Bach • Vol. 2 • Transcriptions
# P21 018 : Mozart Transcriptions
# P21 019 : The Mozart Family
# P21 020-A • (2 CD) : Russian Music • Vol. 1
# P21 021-N : The Complete Mozart Piano Concertos • Vol. 3
# P21 022-A : Liszt • Vol. 10 Liszt I • The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
# P21 023-A • (2 CD) : Scriabin • Vol. 19 • The Complete Dances
# P21 024-A • (2 CD) : French Music • Vol. 2 • De Louis XIII à Boulez
# P21 025-N : The Complete Mozart Piano Concertos • Vol. 4
# P21 026-N : The Complete Mozart Piano Concertos • Vol. 5
# P21 027-A • (2 CD) : Mikis Theodorakis • Vol. 20 Theodorakis • Works for piano & orchestra
# P21 028-A : Grieg • Vol. 18 • Concerto & Piano Works
# P21 029-A : Live at International Tchaikovsky Competition • Vol. 21 • Moscow 1970
# P21 030-N : Piano Rarities • Vol. 1 • Transcriptions
# P21 031-N : The Complete Mozart Piano Concertos • Vol. 6
# P21 032-N : Album d’un Voyageur • Vol. 1 • EUROPE
# P21 033-N • (2 CD) : Viennese Connections • Beethoven • Schubert Hüttenbrenner • Diabelli • Liszt
# P21 034-N : Live in Shanghai • 4 October 2005 • The International Piano Festival of Shanghai Conservatory of Music
# P21 035-N : Live in Shanghai • 2 October 2007 • The International Piano Festival of Shanghai Conservatory of Music
# P21 036-A : Cyprien Katsaris Archives • Vol. 16 • Schumann II
# P21 037-N : Piano Rarities • Vol. 2 • Compositeurs français
# P21 038-N : Chopin, Concerto n° 2 en fa mineur, op. 21 , les 4 versions
# P21 039-N : The Complete Mozart Piano Concertos • Vol. 7
# P21 041-N : Katsaris plays Liszt • Vol. 1
# P21 042-A : Cyprien Katsaris Archives • Vol. 8 • Schubert
# P21 043-N : Katsaris plays Chopin • Live Recordings
# P21 044-N : Hélène Mercier/Cyprien Katsaris • Brahms : Sonata for 2 pianos • Schumann/Clara Schumann : Piano Quintet 4 hands
References
External links
Cyprien Katsaris Official Website– ''www.cyprienkatsaris.net''
* – Biography in English ''www.allmusic.com''
– ''www.schott-music.com''
Interview on the "Opinion" website- ''https://opinionua.com/en/''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katsaris, Cyprien
1951 births
Musicians from Marseille
20th-century French male classical pianists
French people of Cypriot descent
Living people
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
21st-century French male classical pianists