Piano 21 label

With this third volume in the series “Piano Rarities”, Cyprien Katsaris continues exploring the almost limitless world of transcriptions for solo piano. This album, largely devoted to Russian and Central European composers, offers us tastes of the many aspects of the art of transcription.

These are live performances of Schumann’s Piano Concerto, Albumblätter Op.124 and Variations on a Theme by Clara Wieck from Grande Sonata Op.14. The concerto was recorded in Tokyo in 1994, Albumblätter in Munich in 1980 and the Variations in Liège Belgium in 1977.

Cyprien Katsaris is the soloist in this soundtrack of the Danish film Allegro. All the music is by Bach and includes excerpts from concertos as well as The Well-tempered clavier Book 1 and the Inventions.

Brahms’ Sonata in F minor for Two Pianos is a version of a piece which eventually became his Quintet for Piano and Strings Op. 34. Cyprien Katsaris performs the works on this CD with Hélène Mercier, a renowned Canadian pianist who is now based in Paris. Her recordings have received prestigious awards, including a rosette and three stars from the Penguin Guide.

This collection includes live recordings from concert halls in Japan and Germany. Katsaris performs Preludes Op.28 Nos 15, 20, 6, 7 & 4; Souvenir de Paganini, Polonaise Op.26 No.1; Nocturnes Op.15 Nos. 3, 9, 2, 20 and others.

n this second CD of “Piano Rarities”, Cyprien Katsaris includes some neglected works by French composers such as Jean Wiener, Jean-Michel Damase and Lean- Jacques Laubry. He also includes contemporary compositions by Stéphane Blet, Yves Claoué and others. Five Etudes by Jean-Amedée Lefroid de Méreaux have been recorded for the first time. Also included are Katsaris’ improvisations on French film themes, a dazzling highlight.

This first CD in Katsaris’ Liszt series illustrates five aspects of Liszt, all equally fascinating.

Separated onto two CDS, Disc 1 is themed ‘Gipsy and Romantic’ and Disc 2 ‘Avant-Garde’, ‘Homage a Wagner’ and ‘The Philosopher’.

This recital was given by Cyprien Katsaris at the Schubertiade Festival in Austria in 1993. In addition to works by Schubert, Katsaris offers improvisations on themes by Tchaikovsky and Wagner, concluding with the sublime Adagio from Marcello’s Oboe Concerto, transcribed by Bach.

Cyprien Katsaris continues his Mozart series. The concertos on this CD were recorded in the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Rondo in the Great Hall of Salzburg University. All are live recordings.

This CD is a very interesting addition to the many Chopin releases of this year, as it gives no less than four versions of the same work, the last two of which are world premiere recordings. Here we have the standard solo piano and orchestra version, an arrangement for solo piano by Chopin himself, an arrangement for piano and string quintet by David Lively and arrangements for 2 pianos.