On May 3, two years after his last concert in Seattle, Cyprien Katsaris came back and performed at Seattle’s Town Hall. The intimate venue fitted the mood of this unusual program where Katsaris introduced each piece on stage to the public before playing it, and offered some interesting anecdotes along the way.

     The program covered a vast array of pieces from a variety of composers: some classics, such as Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Haydn, and Grieg, and some more obscure and less well known composers such as Istvan Horvarth-Thomas and Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Katsaris, a master at his art, is also a seducer who will confide that a beautiful feminine smile in his audience can help him play better. “You know, I consider music a little bit like my wife and piano like my mistress… The word music comes from muse. You may laugh, but seeing a beautiful woman smile in my audience can be enough to help me play better. The muse, the woman who inspires… This is a very important inspiring aspect.”

     Scholarly and yet approachable, Katsaris knows how to share his knowledge while immediately putting people at ease.  He often cites Pythagoras for whom “music meant absolutely everything: music, but also philosophy, astronomy, science” and sees Bach’s first prelude as the epitome of Pythagoras’ description.  Behind the artist, one senses an individual hungry for life and knowledge, unlike some of his peers who become totally absorbed in their craft and lose themselves into it. While he certainly can dwell on his art, Katsaris is also infectiously communicative and eager to meet his public, as he did after his Seattle concert.

     If you missed him, rest assured that he will be back in the Northwest, most likely early next year. In the meantime, you may stream Katsaris' music for free or purchase his CDs directly from his website:

     http://www.cyprienkatsaris.com/