Cyprien Katsaris & Helene Mercier - Brahms: 21 Hungarian Dances & 16 Waltzes for Piano Four Hands (2018)

“Exceedingly satisfied with our musical collaboration on our Brahms/Schumann recording, I suggested to Helene Mercier that we take on the complete cycles of Brahms’s 21 Hungarian Dances and 16 Waltzes, Op.39, which, unlike me, she had already played in concert.

It was extremely important to both of us that the gypsy spirit was to the fore in the Hungarian Dances, likewise Viennese elegance in the Waltzes. I must humbly acknowledge how impressed I was by my Quebecoise partner’s level of understanding of this very distinctive music. All her musical suggestions that broke with the usual rules made sense, and we tried never to lose sight of the improvisatory character symbolising the freedom of the Gypsies.” Cyprien Katsaris

Tracklist:
16 Waltzes, Op. 39:
1No. 3 in G-Sharp Minor01:13
2No. 5 in E Major01:25
3No. 6 in C-Sharp Major01:02

21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1:
4No. 3 in F Major02:24
5No. 4 in F Minor04:15
6No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor02:07
7No. 6 in D-Flat Major03:05
8No. 7 in A Major01:34
9No. 8 in A Minor02:38

16 Waltzes, Op. 39:
10No. 7 in C-Sharp Minor02:18
11No. 8 in B-Flat Major01:09
12No. 14 in A Minor01:30
13No. 4 in E Minor01:16

21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1:
14No. 9 in E Minor01:50
16 Waltzes, Op. 39:
15No. 9 in D Minor01:14
16No. 10 in G Major00:36

21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1:
17No. 10 in E Major01:51
16 Waltzes, Op. 39:
18No. 15 in A Major01:28
19No. 1 in B Major00:52

21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1:
20No. 1 in G Minor02:39
21No. 2 in D Minor03:20
22No. 16 in D Minor01:11
23No. 11 in D Minor03:07
24No. 12 in D Minor02:24
25No. 13 in D Major01:32
26No. 14 in D Minor01:46
27No. 15 in B-Flat Major02:20
28No. 16 in F Minor02:19
29No. 17 in F-Sharp Minor03:09
30No. 18 in D Major01:27

16 Waltzes, Op. 39:
31No. 11 in B Minor01:33
32No. 12 in E Major01:42
33No. 13 in C Major00:46

21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1:
34No. 19 in B Minor01:50
16 Waltzes, Op. 39:
35No. 2 in E Major01:32
21 Hungarian Dances, WoO 1:
36No. 20 in E Minor02:37
37No. 21 in E Minor