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Customer Reviews
unrealistic and even overblown in my living room - I therefore have become
a bit of an addict of solo pieces and small ensembles - one of the biggest
bugbears of my life is how so many of the best tunes were saved up for the
grandiose works, their charms rather lost for me.
The answer of course is transcriptions and these Beethoven symphonies are
quite magical examples, better for my money than the Liszt-focused Leslie
Howard set on Hyperion because Katsaris concentrates on bringing out the
Beethovem as he explains in the sleeve notes, often finding very innovative
ways to go beyond the Liszt and capture the real feel of the originals. This
is especially true of his 6th and 9th symphonies, which are simply stunning
and will show any listener detail that you simply cannot capture when some
big show-off conductor is exercising his powers over a tame orchestra.
There are 5 CDs in this reasonably priced reissue set, all originally
released as full price separates, only intermittently available over the
last couple of years, sometimes fetching big money on eBay. Now you can have
them for next to nothing and get a whole new slant on some of the greatest
musical works ever written.
From the moment I began to play Symphony no 6 (my favourite anyway) I realised that this is one of those rare works which will take me years to fathom, if I ever manage to all.
None of the passion or depth of the full orchestral works has been lost, and the sheer technical difficulty and the absolute command Cyprien Katsaris shows, hold you from the start and for 6 hours takes your breath away. In fact, the way he gives himself over and into to the music adds to the emotion of the original (if that is even possible).
The first time I listened to the 5th movement Symphony No 6 I could hardly bear the tension of waiting to see how Katsaris would handle the way Beethoven passes the theme down the orchestra, and the first time you hear it, it is an awesome experience. I know Liszt was behind the transcription, but Katsaris manages to instill in the listener both anxiety (because you can't see how he could ever manage to do the music justice) and awe (when you see that he manages to do just that). I am no professional, just an enthusoiastic amateur, but if ever I had to say something was technically brilliant - then Cyprien Katsaris' performance would be it.
Very strangely, I also felt a certain degree of sadness, not because of the music, but because now I have heard how good a pianist it is possible to be, I realise that I'm never ever going to be anywhere near that good. :-(
You don't ask questions about 6 hours of something of this quality. Just buy it - if you are a budding pianist it might just inspire you and change your life. If you are not, then it probably will anyway.
I will be exploring this CD set for the rest of my days.
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