Piano Rarities Vol 1
Katsaris gets physical with this enchanting disc of transcriptions
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Sergey Rachmaninov, Richard Wagner, Fritz Kreisler, Gabriel Fauré, Gustav Mahler, Francisco Tárrega (y Eixea), (Clément Philibert) Léo Delibes, Reinhold Glière, Federico Mompou, (Pio) Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss, Georges Bizet, Robert Schumann
Genre:
Instrumental
Label: Piano 21
Magazine Review Date: 2/2009
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 67
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: P21030

Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Pugnani |
Fritz Kreisler, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Fritz Kreisler, Composer |
Liederkreis, Movement: No. 5, Mondnacht |
Robert Schumann, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Robert Schumann, Composer |
An Silvia |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Franz Schubert, Composer |
Wesendonck Lieder, Movement: Der Engel |
Richard Wagner, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Richard Wagner, Composer |
(8) Lieder aus Letzte Blätter, Movement: No. 1, Zueignung (orch 1940) |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Richard Strauss, Composer |
Symphony No. 5, Movement: Adagietto |
Gustav Mahler, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Gustav Mahler, Composer |
Damunt de tu, només les flors |
Federico Mompou, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Federico Mompou, Composer |
Recuerdos de la Alhambra |
Francisco Tárrega (y Eixea), Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Francisco Tárrega (y Eixea), Composer |
Choro da saudade |
(Pio) Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Composer
(Pio) Agustín Barrios Mangoré, Composer Cyprien Katsaris, Piano |
Adieux de l'hôtesse arabe |
Georges Bizet, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Georges Bizet, Composer |
(3) Songs, Movement: Nell (wds. L de Lisle: 1878) |
Gabriel Fauré, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Gabriel Fauré, Composer |
Coppélia, Movement: Valse lente |
(Clément Philibert) Léo Delibes, Composer
(Clément Philibert) Léo Delibes, Composer Cyprien Katsaris, Piano |
Vocalise |
Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Sergey Rachmaninov, Composer |
Bronze Horseman |
Reinhold Glière, Composer
Cyprien Katsaris, Piano Reinhold Glière, Composer |
Author: Jeremy Nicholas
Piano transcription fanciers will fall over themselves for this collection, not merely for the effortless bravura and tonal control of the playing (Katsaris is in the Wild/Volodos/Cziffra league) but because they will not have heard many of the titles. No fewer than ten are by the Polish-born (1946) Karol A Penson whose profession, amazingly, is not music but science: he is Professor of Physics at the University of Paris, a veritable Borodin de nos jours. These include luminous arrangements of Schumann’s “Mondnacht” and Richard Strauss’s “Zueignung” as well as a finger-busting repeated-note transcription of Tárrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra, and (another guitar-to-piano work) Barrios Mangoré’s enchanting Chôro da saudade arranged for the left hand alone.
The recording is a tad on the spacious side – probably a good option in order to capture the huge sonority produced in items like the opening Praeludium and Allegro (Kreisler-Vaneyev) or the artfully floated tone in Fiorentino’s transcription of Rachmaninov’s Vocalise which is followed by the delirious acrobatics of the Waltz from Glière’s The Bronze Horseman. Now there’s an obscurity!
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