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Cyprien Katsaris

Cyprien Katsaris is a Contemporary French pianist known for his effortless technique and masterful control of voicing, phrasing, and dynamics. He is also a passionate champion for forgotten and neglected composers. He was born in Marseilles, France in 1951, and he started playing the piano when he was four years old. He spent his childhood in Cameroon, where he attended the local school, and he studied piano with Marie-Gabrielle Louwerse. Later, he enrolled at the Paris Conservatory, where his piano professors were Aline van Barentzen and Monique de la Bruchollerie, and he received instruction in chamber music from René Leroy and Jean Hubeau. He made his debut in Paris in 1966, with the Orchestre Symphonique d'Ile-de-France and conductor René-Pierre Chouteau. Katsaris excelled at the conservatory, and he earned first prizes for piano in 1969 and chamber music in 1970. After he won the first prize at the International Cziffra Competition in 1974, he started to receive invitations to perform at major venues throughout the world, with giants such as Leonard Bernstein, Antal Dorati, and many others. He was awarded the International Young Interpreters Rostrum-UNESCO in 1977, and in 1978 he toured with the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra. He began working with the Teldec record label in the early '80s, and he recorded all nine of Liszt’s piano transcriptions of Beethoven’s symphonies, which are some of the most technically challenging works for the instrument. Katsaris was awarded Grand Prix di Disque awards in 1984, 1985, and 1989, and he continued a busy schedule of recording and touring through the '90s. He also appeared in a Japanese documentary series on Frederic Chopin, produced by NHK TV in 1992. Five years later, he became an Artist of UNESCO for Peace. Katsaris founded the PIANO 21 label in 2001 as a platform to produce recordings from his personal archives, reissues, and lesser-known works. Since its creation, he has released around 40 albums on the PIANO 21 label. During a recital performance in Berlin in 2012, he suffered a stroke and temporarily lost sensation in the left side of his body, but he made a full recovery by the following day, which he attributed to his faith in Scientology. In the 2020s, Katsaris remains very active in his career as a performer and recording artist. His 2022 release Saint-Saëns: Piano Transcriptions on the PIANO 21 label was picked by Gramophone as one of the best solo piano recordings of 2022: Editor’s Choice. In 2023, he performed recitals around Europe, which incorporated improvised works, and he also appeared on the album Mozart: Don Juan in transcription for piano solo by Bizet.
© RJ Lambert /TiVo

Discography

99 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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