Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue (Piano Solo transcription (Piano Cziffra) sheet music
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György Cziffra ( Budapest , November 5 , 1921 – Longpont-sur-Orge , France , January 15 , 1994 ) was a pianist Hungarian.
In 1968 he became French , adopting the name Georges Cziffra .
He is considered one of the best pianists of the 20th century . Son of a gypsy family, his father played in cabarets and restaurants in Paris in 1910 .
At the age of five he was already improvising popular tunes in bars and circuses. At the age of nine he was accepted at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, where he studied, among others, with Ernest von Dohnányi . He made his first concert tours at the age of 16.
He took part in World War II and was taken prisoner, which is why he could not finish his musical studies. After the war he made a living as a jazz pianist in bars and night clubs. He tried to escape from Hungary which was under the yoke of the Soviet Union , which led him to spend three years in labor camps (1950-1953).
In 1956, he won the Franz Liszt prize, a fact that helped him boost his career. The same year, he fled with his wife and their son to Vienna , where he gave a recital that would open the doors of Paris and London . His fame was favored by numerous performances, also in the United States .
In 1975, he created the Cziffra Foundation, to support young artists. The French thanked him for his commitment to the creation of a piano competition with his name. After the accidental death of her son in 1981, Cziffra appeared even more rarely in public.
Cziffra died in Senlis (France) at the age of 72, of a myocardial infarction resulting from a series of complications also due to lung cancer.
The composers he preferably interpreted were, mainly due to his excellent technique, Franz Liszt , Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann . A good example of his skill is his interpretation of Grand Galop Chromatique Liszt’s .
His arrangements for piano also belong to the most difficult works in piano literature.
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Selected discography
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, 2, and 3, National Orchestra of the French Broadcasting Corporation, dir.: Dervaux n.1, Philharmonic Orchestra, dir.: Vandernoot n. 2 and 3, EMI.
Chopin: Anthology: Barcarolle, Bolero, Polish Chants, Impromtus, Polonaises 3 to 7, Polish-fantasy, 2 and 3 Sonata, Tarantelles. EMI. Anthology (2): Ballade nº.4, Piano Concerto nº, 1 Studies 3,10,13,14, Impromtus nº, 1, Nocturne nº. 2, Polonesa nº, 3, Waltz nº,7, Paris Orchestra, dir.: Cziffra fill, EMI.
Liszt: Antologia: Rève d’amour , Le ronde des Elves , Sant François d’Assise preaching to the birds , Forgotten Waltz nº, 1, Ballade nº,2, Valse-Impromtu, 2 Poloneses, Apassionata EMI. (