Masterly recital opens piano series • Cyprien Katsaris solo Piano
Cyprien Katsaris’s masterly recital made a very opulent opening for the International Piano Series. Katsaris juxtaposed sheer virtuoso entertainment with supremely thoughtful and lyrical playing in a program of strange but tellingly effective diversity.
Renowned as an exponent of Liszt’s dazzling transcriptions, Katsaris began with an improvisation à la Liszt – a torrent of flawless technical showmanship that touched on famous themes from Wagner, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky. This was done with a lightness of touch, perhaps just a little tongue-in-check, that made Katsaris appear as something of a thinking person’s Liberace.
In Liszt’s always faithful solo piano realisation of the slow movement from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, Katsaris was immediately at home with the music that established his recording reputation. A deeply engaging and refined reading that balanced grace and gravitas.
Liszt again, in three of his Schubert song transcriptions, nestled charmingly on the brink of kitsch.
And then just Schubert in his final and wondrous last Sonata D 960 in B flat.
In music which is often treated a little too piously, Katsaris found the core of classical clarity, vivacity and eloquence.
The Advertiser, 30.06.2010
