Cyprien Katsaris

Biography

Born in France in 1951. Graduated from the Paris Conservatoire with top honors. In addition to receiving the Albert Roussel Foundation Prize in Paris and winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1970, he also was a prize-winner at the 1972 Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition of Belgium and won the First Prize in the International Cziffra Competition in 1974, thereby establishing his reputation as an international musician. Celebrated as a genius since studying at the Paris Conservatoire, Katsaris is actively performing globally as a pianist possessing both unparalleled technique and an emotional, rich and poetic power of expression. He also records on his own Piano 21 label.

Interview

[Q1. Which artists have influenced you the most?]

Gyorgy Cziffra, Wilhelm Kempff and Vladimir Horowitz and of course my 2 main professors Aline van Barentzen and Monique de La Bruchollerie.

[Q2. What are your impressions of Yamaha pianos?]

I simply love them not only because of their unique action which fits perfectly with my hands but also because I can get all the sound colors I want. Last spring, I decided to use a Yamaha CFX in London for my recording of 3 piano concertos by Haydn with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy Saint Martins in the Fields.

[Q3. What does music, and the piano, mean to you?]

Everything and the ideal way to communicate. Music is my wife and pianos my girlfriends. My relationship with music and pianos is equally spiritual and physical.....

[Q4. Which are your favorite performance venues?]

There are too many! Japan has wonderful modern concert halls but I also enjoy a lot performing in Greek ancient theatres as their ones in Athens and Cyprus and of course the prestigious concert halls of Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, New York etc.

[Q5. Do you have a message for people learning the piano?]

Keep practicing and remember that the quality of practicing is more important than the quantity.

CF Series

Designed with the concept of “Beauty and Power”, Yamaha's CF Series pianos are characterized by rich and colorful tonal colors which provide unparalleled musical expression.

Alberto Pizzo

Alberto Pizzo joins the Yamaha family and becomes an official Yamaha Artist. Born in Naples in 1980, Alberto Pizzo began studying the piano at a young age. In 2004 he graduated at Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples and took part in many national and international piano contests. In 2006 he obtained a second level degree in Concert Piano at the same Conservatory in Naples. In 2007, as solo pianist, he performed the music for a Rai International show about Vincenzo Bellini and for GEO & GEO, a RaiTre show. In 2009 Alberto held a concert at the Japan Stock Exchange as a solo artist and with soprano Yuki Sumani. In 2010 he entered Palco Reale of Gianni Sergio.

Cesare Picco

Pianist and composer Cesare Picco has become an official ‘Yamaha Artist’, becoming part of an exclusive group of musicians. Cesare Picco started studying piano when he was four years old and from 1986 he started to perform his own music. He is author to ballets, operas, music for theatre and special projects performed worldwide Cesare has performed at Italy’s most important festivals and worldwide including Delhi Jazz Festival, Tokyo Jazz Festival, Abu Dhabi Festival, Singapore Old Parliament, Hanoi Opera House, Al Maidan Centre Kuwait City, Kolkata Tagore Centre, Shillong Auditorium, Guggenheim Venice, Tokyo Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, New York Whitney Museum, and Tokyo Blue Note. He has worked with distinguished artists including Naseer Shamma, Giovanni Hidalgo, Edmar Castaneda, Nino Josele, Vasilis Saleas, Miles Jaye, Giovanni Sollima, Hajime Mizoguchi, Markus Stockhausen, Yukimi Nagano, Taketo Gohara, and many Italian artists. As a composer he has written music for solos, chamber music ensembles and orchestras such as Virtuosi Italiani, Berlin Chamber Soloists, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra.

Andrejs Osokins

Latvian classical concert pianist Andrejs Osokins is a laureate of the world’s most prominent piano competitions, including Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv, the Long-Thibaud International Competition in Paris, the Leeds International Piano Competition and the Queen Elisabeth International Piano Competition in Brussels, as well as a laureate of the 5th Inter-national German Piano Award presented by International Piano Forum in Frankfurt.

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