Collection Piano21

This recording is dedicated to the three composers in the Mozart family: we discover Leopold Mozart through his Sonata in C major and the popular Toy Symphony arranged for piano by the American Matthew Cameron. Wolfgang Amadeus features on this CD with a selection of compositions he wrote as a 5 to 8-year-old boy. In addition, there is a piece written by Wolfgang to his sister Nannerl and another in which he erects a musical monument to his wife Constanze and his sister-in-law Sophie. From Franz Xaver Mozart, we have selected the 7 Variations on the Minuet of the opera Don Giovanni” , the Sonata for Piano in G major and the Polonaise mélancolique in E minor.

Cyprien Katsaris recorded the music for the Danish film “Allegro” (www.allegrofilm.dk). Directed by Christoffer Boe, winner of Golden Camera Award (Caméra d’Or) for “Reconstruction” (2003), it features Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen and international top model Helena Christensen in the lead. The soundtrack consists exclusively of music by Johann Sebastian Bach: pieces for solo piano but also movements from concertos, which Cyprien Katsaris recorded with the South West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim (Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim) conducted by Sebastian Tewinkel.

This double CD features works both famous and lesser-known by five composers who had direct or indirect links in Vienna : Beethoven, Schubert, Hüttenbrenner, Diabelli and Liszt.
Beethoven completed his Sonata Pathétique shortly after the birth of Schubert, who was 20 years old when he composed his 13 Variations on a surprising theme by Hüttenbrenner which in turn echoes the famous second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, here presented in Liszt’s transcription.
All five musicians composed various dances during this period in Vienna, including Waltz S. 208a composed by Liszt in 1823 during his studies in Vienna and Beethoven’s 2nd Contradance which features the first appearance of the famous theme of the finale of the Eroica Symphony. Here also are the first-ever versions recorded anywhere of three works: Reinecke’s piano transcription of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, the manuscript of which Schubert had given to Hüttenbrenner; then, from Hüttenbrenner himself – a composer lapsed into undeserved obscurity – two funeral tributes to his friends Beethoven and Schubert, the magnificent Variations Op. 2 and the waltzes based on Schubert’s Erlkönig. The omnipresent Liszt offers us his own astonishing transcriptions of the Erlkönig and the Young Nun. Then we have the Viennese composer and publisher Anton Diabelli, best known for his sonatinas, who requested fifty composers to write variations on his own Waltz: those of Hüttenbrenner, Schubert, Liszt (who was 11 years old) and four of Beethoven’s 33 Variations Op. 120 feature in this recording.



		The first CD of Piano 21 (P21 001) invites us to discover the world premiere recording of the Creatures of Prometheus by Beethoven in the arrangement for piano by the composer. This version, published by Beethoven even before the orchestral version, was strangely neglected by pianists for 200 years… This CD also includes the only arrangement for piano made by Beethoven of one of his symphonies: the first forty-six measures of the Seventh Symphony.
		And this is the Sonata that was such a great favourite with another genius of the piano, Frédéric Chopin, who very often played and taught it. Chopin was also responsible for that other famous Funeral March (3rd movement of his Sonata No. 2, op. 35 ), played by Cyprien Katsaris, together with some of Chopin's most popular works, as well as an almost unknown funeral march from his youth, in the recital "In Memoriam Chopin" that he gave on the very day of the 150th anniversary of Chopin's death, 17 October 1999, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Katsaris had played the same programme the evening before in Japan and had to travel for 13 hours from Tokyo to New York the day of the concert. This exceptional concert is available on a double CD P21 003 and also on DVD P21 012.
		If you are a lover of Tchaikovsky, Scriabin and Rachmaninov, you will doubtless be interested to discover the little-known Russian composer Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877-1952) in a selection of his most attractive pieces (preludes, studies, etc.) (P21 004).
		Vol. 1 (P21 007) of a new series dedicated by Cyprien Katsaris to J. S. Bach allows you to compare the two versions of the Prelude No. 1 in C Major (First Book of the "Well Tempered Clavier") and also major works like the Partita No. 1, BWV 825, or the French Suite No. 2 , BWV 813, with rarities that are no less interesting, such as the Prelude (Fantasy) in C Minor , BWV 921, or the Fugue in A Minor , BWV 959.
		In addition, Piano 21 has published a CD bringing together for the first time 5 concertos by the Bach Family (Johann Sebastian, Wilhelm Friedemann, Johann Christian, Johann Christoph Friedrich, Carl Philipp Emanuel), which Cyprien Katsaris performs with the Chamber Orchestra of the Festival of Echternach, conducted by the Korean Yoon K. Lee.
		You can discover the bewitching melodies and the sensual rhythms of Mexico in Vol.1 (P21 002) of another series dedicated to Latin American music.
		Another recent publication is a homage to Cyprus (P21 015), containing world premiere recordings of works connected with this beautiful island. Among them is the overture to the opera The Queen of Cyprus by J. F. Halévy, arranged for piano by… Richard Wagner!
		Finally, you have the opportunity to discover Cyprien Katsaris filmed by Claude Chabrol at the International Festival of Echternach, Luxembourg, on a DVD (P21 011).
		This CD invites you to discover the transcribing works of Bach which inspired Mario Feninger ( Siciliano BWV 1031), Dame Myra Hess ( Adagio from the Toccata for Organ BWV 564) and Alexander Il'yich Ziloti ( Prelude BWV 855a). It also includes the transcriptions by Theodor Szántó ( Prelude and Fugue BWV 542), Camille Saint-Saëns ( Largo from the Sonata no. 3 BWV 1005), Wilhelm Kempff (“Awake! the voice is calling to us!” BWV 645) and by Serge Rachmaninoff and Ignaz Friedman each producing his own new-minted version of the Gavotte en Rondeau BWV 1006. Cyprien Katsaris here offers us among other things Bach's four-part close harmony versions of the melodies by Johann Schop and Philipp Nicolai. He also provides us with arrangements of his own, namely those of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 and of the Badinerie BWV 1067.
		On this disk, Cyprien Katsaris interprets transcriptions of certain scenes of the Magic Flute as treated by both Georges Bizet and Georges Mathias. Cyprien here plays not only the arrangement of the Overture of the opera The Abduction from the Seraglio by Mozart himself, but also his own transcription of Belmonte's first aria “Then must I see you here”. We can also discover the piano arrangement of the famous Symphony no. 40 by Johann Nepomuk Hummel. This CD ends with “A Little Night Music”, scored for solo piano by the New York pianist and composer Matthew Cameron.
		This recording is dedicated to the three composers in the Mozart family: we discover Leopold Mozart through his Sonata in C major and the popular Toy Symphony arranged for piano by the American Matthew Cameron. Wolfgang Amadeus features on this CD with a selection of compositions he wrote as a 5 to 8-year-old boy. In addition, there is a piece written by Wolfgang to his sister Nannerl and another in which he erects a musical monument to his wife Constanze and his sister-in-law Sophie. From Franz Xaver Mozart, we have selected the 7 Variations on the Minuet of the opera Don Giovanni” , the Sonata for Piano in G major and the Polonaise mélancolique in E minor.
		This first volume in the series “Piano Rarities” is guaranteed to thrill questing music lovers. On this CD Cyprien Katsaris visits the vast realm of piano transcriptions and adaptations. Here, you will find well-known and well-loved works like the Lieder of Schumann, Schubert, Wagner and Richard Strauss, Mahler's Fifth Symphony, the Waltz from Coppélia and Rachmaninov's Vocalise : in solo piano interpretation, they lose nothing of the emotional and poetic impact of their originals. A tireless explorer, Cyprien Katsaris challenges our curiosity and unveils true masterpieces, including works by Latin-American and Spanish composers like Tárrega, Barrios Mangoré and Mompou. Who could resist the magnificent transcription of the Prelude and Allegro in the Style of Pugnani by Kreisler which opens the programme, or the sparkling Valse by Reinhold Glière which brings it to its close? Here, through his choices and his interpretations, Cyprien Katsaris emerges once more as a thrilling man of music. The appeal of this album owes much to the transcriptions of Professor Karol A. Penson, an eminent practising scientist whose contribution to the enrichment of the art and the repertoire of the piano is extraordinary.
		Cyprien Katsaris recorded the music for the Danish film “Allegro” (www.allegrofilm.dk). Directed by Christoffer Boe, winner of Golden Camera Award (Caméra d’Or) for “Reconstruction” (2003), it features Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen and international top model Helena Christensen in the lead. The soundtrack consists exclusively of music by Johann Sebastian Bach: pieces for solo piano but also movements from concertos, which Cyprien Katsaris recorded with the South West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim (Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim) conducted by Sebastian Tewinkel.
		This double CD features works both famous and lesser-known by five composers who had direct or indirect links in Vienna : Beethoven, Schubert, Hüttenbrenner, Diabelli and Liszt. Beethoven completed his Sonata Pathétique shortly after the birth of Schubert, who was 20 years old when he composed his 13 Variations on a surprising theme by Hüttenbrenner which in turn echoes the famous second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, here presented in Liszt’s transcription. All five musicians composed various dances during this period in Vienna, including Waltz S. 208a composed by Liszt in 1823 during his studies in Vienna and Beethoven’s 2nd Contradance which features the first appearance of the famous theme of the finale of the Eroica Symphony. Here also are the first-ever versions recorded anywhere of three works: Reinecke’s piano transcription of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony, the manuscript of which Schubert had given to Hüttenbrenner; then, from Hüttenbrenner himself – a composer lapsed into undeserved obscurity – two funeral tributes to his friends Beethoven and Schubert, the magnificent Variations Op. 2 and the waltzes based on Schubert’s Erlkönig. The omnipresent Liszt offers us his own astonishing transcriptions of the Erlkönig and the Young Nun. Then we have the Viennese composer and publisher Anton Diabelli, best known for his sonatinas, who requested fifty composers to write variations on his own Waltz: those of Hüttenbrenner, Schubert, Liszt (who was 11 years old) and four of Beethoven’s 33 Variations Op. 120 feature in this recording.


cyprien katsaris © 2004 , tous droits réservés concept & design : robin pauletto