The Artistry of Cyprien Katsaris

Words fail me when trying to describe this performance of Cyprien Katsaris over You Tube.

Stage setting: A majestic church with big resonance, and while the soundtrack is scratchy, what emanates from the piano makes the listener forget any mechanical distraction. The playing is so ethereal, one senses an immortality channeled through a mortal. So religioso is its power of communication.

Bach Prelude and Fugue

(This is the Bach-Liszt Organ Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV. 543, transcription)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkYQ-Zgk1rA

Katsaris surrenders every bit of himself to the music, making what is His, ours.

The Fugue belongs to a divine universe unto itself. Every voice is fleshed out in one form or another. The build to climax is earth-shattering.

I cannot say much more without falling all over myself in hyperbole.

...and by the way, as an expression of personal bias, I prefer Katsaris playing the Steinway to the Yamaha. The latter does not have the gigantic resonating bass needed for this music, so I was pleased by his choice of instrument for the occasion.

***

And now Katsaris's own transcription of J.S. Bach's Badinerie from the Orchestra Suite in B Minor, followed by Bach's Fugue from his Fantasy and Fugue for Organ (BWV 542)in the Transcription of Theodor Szántó, Franz Liszt and Cyprien Katsaris, himself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Co-qFv5etY

Magnificent!