Cyprien Katsaris ( el, Κυπριανός Κατσαρής; born 5 May 1951) is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...

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 A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. 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 Emil Georg Conrad von Sauer (8 October 186227 April 1942) was a German composer, pianist, score editor, and music (piano) teacher. He was a pupil of Franz Liszt and one of the most distinguished pianists of his generation. Josef Hofmann called vo ...

, who had been a pupil of

Franz 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 ...

. 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 classical ...

's nine symphonies.

Biography

Katsaris was born in

Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, 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 Aline van Barentzen (born Aline Hoyle; 17 July 1897 – 30 October 1981) was a Franco-American classical pianist. Biography Van Berentzen was born in Somerville, Massachusetts and gave her first concert at the age of four. At a young age, her ...

(a pupil of

Élie-Miriam Delaborde Élie-Miriam Delaborde (born Eraïm-Miriam Delaborde; 7 February 18399 December 1913) was a French virtuoso pianist and composer. He was also renowned as a player of the pedal piano. Life His birth was registered under the name of his mother L ...

, son of

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Lisz ...

), and

(a pupil of

, who was a pupil of

). Briefly, Katsaris studied under

György Cziffra Christian Georges Cziffra (; born Cziffra Krisztián György; 5 November 192115 January 1994) was a Hungarian-French virtuoso pianist and composer. He is considered to be one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of the twentieth century. Among h ...

. 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 Jean Hubeau (22 June 191719 August 1992) was a French pianist, composer and pedagogue known especially for his recordings of Gabriel Fauré, Robert Schumann and Paul Dukas, which are recognized as benchmark versions. Biography Admitted at t ...

, and he won First Prize for this in 1970. Katsaris gave his first public concert in Paris, at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

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

's nine symphonies – reissued by Warner Classics in 2006. He has also recorded the music of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, 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 Kammersänge ...

and

Thomas Moser Thomas Moser (born 27 May 1945) is an American-Austrian operatic tenor. Life Born in Richmond, Virginia, Moser first studied singing at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and with Martial Singher at the Music Academy of the West, attende ...

. 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 and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) * 1972: Prize-winner at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium * 1972: Alex de Vries Foundation Prize (

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

) * 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, u ...

) * 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 Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

) * 1997: Artist of UNESCO for Peace * 2000: Knight of the

Order of Arts and Letters The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

) * 2001: Médaille Vermeil de la Ville de

* 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 geo ...

)

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