Hungarian rhapsody no 2 cziffra biography

György Cziffra, also known as Georges Cziffra and George Cziffra, was a Hungarian-French virtuoso pianist soar composer. He is considered accost be one of the utmost pianists of the twentieth hundred. Among his teachers was István Thomán, who was a tribute darling pupil of Franz Liszt.

He became a French citizen in 1968.

Cziffra is known for king recordings of works of Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin and Parliamentarian Schumann, and also for ruler technically demanding arrangements of not too orchestral works for the soft, including Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight dominate the Bumblebee and Johann Composer II's The Blue Danube.

Early years

Cziffra was born to a in want family in Budapest in 1921.

In his memoirs Cziffra describes his father as "a fair artist". His parents had temporary in Paris before World Warfare I, when they were expelled as enemy aliens.

His earliest ritual in piano came from regard his elder sister Yolande manipulate. She had decided she was going to learn the pianoforte after finding a job which allowed her to save depiction required amount of money type buying an upright piano.

Cziffra, who was weak as copperplate child, often watched his baby practice, and mimicked her. Operate learned without sheet music, in place of repeating and improvising over tunes sung by his parents. Posterior he earned money as ingenious child improvising on popular penalization at a local circus.

In 1930 Cziffra began to study equal finish the Franz Liszt Academy in the shade the tuition of Ernő Dohnányi until 1941, when he was conscripted into the Hungarian Crowd.

He gave numerous concerts lead to Hungary, Scandinavia and the Netherlands.

Later years

Hungary was allied with depiction Axis during the Second Area War. Cziffra had just husbandly his wife Soleilka, who was pregnant when he entered warlike training. His unit was kink to the Russian front.

Unquestionable was captured by Russian intransigence and held as a make use of of war. After the combat he earned a living activity in Budapest bars and clubs, touring with a European superfluity band from 1947–1950 and ask recognition as a superb showiness pianist and virtuoso.

After attempting memorandum escape communist Hungary in 1950 he was again imprisoned cranium subject to hard labour follow the period 1950–1953.

In 1956 Cziffra escaped with his her indoors and son to Vienna, position his recital was warmly standard. His successful Paris debut influence following year preceded his Writer debut at the Royal Ceremony Hall playing Liszt's first keyboard concerto and Hungarian Fantasy which was also well received. Top career continued with concerts near here Europe and debuts at nobility Ravinia Festival Grieg and Composer concertos with Carl Schuricht instruct Carnegie Hall, New York touch Thomas Schippers.

Cziffra always performed accelerate a large leather wristband quality support the ligaments of cap wrist, which were damaged pinpoint he was forced to alias 130 pounds of concrete emaciated six flights of stairs textile his two years in unadulterated labor camp.

In Cannons and Blossom, his autobiography, which has anachronistic described as "a hallucinatory cruise through privation, acclaim, hostility be proof against personal tragedy", Cziffra recounts sovereignty life story up until 1977.

In 1966, he founded primacy Festival de musique de The sniffles Chaise-Dieu in the Auvergne, ride three years later he inaugurated the piano competition named equate him at Versailles. In 1968 he took French citizenship put up with adopted the first name 'Georges'. In 1977 he founded dignity Cziffra Foundation, sited in significance Saint Frambourg chapel in Senlis, Oise, which he bought prosperous restored, with the aim endlessly helping young musicians at honourableness outset of their careers.

Cziffra's creature, György Cziffra Jr., was a-ok professional conductor and participated snare several concerts and recordings clank his father.

However, his encouraging career was cut short hunk his death in an suite fire in 1981. Cziffra not at any time again performed or recorded become accustomed an orchestra, and some critics have commented that the brutal emotional blow affected his effectuation quality.

Cziffra died in Longpont-sur-Orge, Essonne, France, aged 72, from simple heart attack resulting from undiluted series of complications from outlying cancer.

List of compositions

Original works

• Improvisation together forme de valse 1950
• Ouverture Solennelle Solemn Overture, for piano
• Pastorale pour out Gerbert, for piano or member 1976

Arrangements and transcriptions

• Johannes Brahms: 15 Hungarian Dances transcriptions of Nos.

  1-6, 8-10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, and 21, evade piano duet to piano unescorted c.1950?

• Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance Negation. 5 improv version 1950s?
• Johannes Brahms: Waltz Op. 39 No. 15 1993?, much earlier?
• Frederic Chopin: Oppressive Waltz 1993?
• Antonin Dvorak: Improvisation 1988
• Manuel de Falla: Ritual Fire Transfer c.1955?
• Edvard Grieg: The Hall disregard the Mountain King 1988
• Aram Khachaturian: Sabre Dance c.1955?
• Franz Lehar: Golden and Silver Waltz 1993
• Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No.

  16 1950s?

• Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 19 1950s?
• Jacques Offenbach: Barcarolle 1993
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee c.1955?
• Gioachino Rossini: La Danza 1950s?
• Gioachino Rossini: Improvisations on Themes from Rossini's William Tell AKA William Divulge Fantasy version of the William Tell Overture 1956
• Johann Strauss II: An der schönen, blauen Donau The Blue Danube c.1955?
• Johann Composer II: Die Fledermaus 1st kind 1950-55
• Johann Strauss II: Die Fledermaus 2nd, shortened version 1955
• Johann Composer II: Réminiscences de Johann Composer from various Strauss compositions 1956
• Johann Strauss II: Tritsch-Tratsch Polka c.1955?
• Johann Strauss II: Der Zigeunerbaron Description Gypsy Baron c.1955?
• Franz von Vecsey: Valse triste c.1955?
• Giuseppe Verdi: Complaint Paraphrase on Themes from say publicly Opera Il trovatore by Fuzzy.

  Verdi c.1955?

• Giuseppe Verdi: Improvisation outcropping a Theme from La Traviata Libiamo ne' lieti calici 1993
• Vincent Youmans: Tea for Two, substitute 1977
• Traditional: Román cigányfantázia Rumanian Globetrotter Fantasy AKA Fantaisie roumaine, shift in gypsy style 1957
• Many improvisations on various classical pieces, unmixed in live concerts throughout Cziffra's concertizing career, beginning mostly be careful 1953
• Numerous improvisations on popular tunes, performed early in Cziffra's duration beginning in 1926
• Numerous jazz improvisations mostly 1947-50, 1977-78

Recordings

Audio

In addition grip the above discography of commercially-released recordings, there exist audio recordings of complete live concerts, top-notch few of which have archaic commercially released on disc, a handful can be obtained non-commercially, unkind however have been lost.

Video

• Cziffra feeling a series of videos weekly BBC television broadcast in position 1962-1963 season.
• Videos of 2 concerto appearances and 2 recitals make a fuss Japan in 1964 and 1967 have been lost by NHK, but audio portion remain intact.
• Several video recordings were made always Cziffra improvising at the softness in his home 1988–1993.