1998 marked the 50th anniversary of PETER KATIN's London début. Born in London, his musical talent was evident at the age of four, and he was admitted to the senior department of the Royal Academy of Music when he was twelve, four years before the official age of entry. The success of his Wigmore Hall début in 1948 started him on a career that has taken him throughout the world (he was the first British artist to give a post-war solo tour of the then USSR), and in those earlier years he was greatly influenced by his meetings with Clifford Curzon, Claudio Arrau and Myra Hess, who gave him much advice for which he has always been deeply grateful. 

His early successes seemed centred round the classical composers; he was greatly in demand for Mozart concerto performances in particular and he also developed a rare talent for chamber music. However, a performance of Rachmaninov's D minor Concerto in 1953 changed his image almost overnight, and hailed as a virtuoso of the first order he was constantly in demand for the most taxing of romantic concertos until the late sixties, but by that time he decided that he needed to make a more in-depth study of the composers who had almost escaped him when he was immersed in the big major works.

The first composer in this specialised study was Chopin, and since that time he has become regarded as one of the finest interpreters of this composer's music. He was sufficiently encouraged to make similar studies of Schubert, Schumann, Debussy and Liszt, and as a result has given a number of one-composer recitals. His repertoire now is very flexible and he is happy about performing concertos by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms in one week, while keeping a very wide variety of styles in his recital programmes.

His constant encouragement of the preserving of individuality in young artists has been one factor in the conferral during 1994 of an Honorary Doctorate by De Montfort University, and as a teacher, he has had highly successful years at the Royal Academy of Music, The University of Western Ontario, the Royal College of Music and Thames Valley University.

He has now almost forty recordings, more than at any other time in his career, which have been received with critical superlatives. These include the complete Mozart Sonatas, Chopin Nocturnes and Impromptus, Grieg Lyric Pieces, Chopin Waltzes and Polonaises and the Rachmaninov Preludes. A live performance of a recital including the Liszt Sonata was released to a rave review in Classic CD. His interest in period pianos has resulted in three such recordings, as well as an all-Chopin programme on his own Collard & Collard 1836, and another on a Broadwood grand that was used by Chopin on the occasion of his last visit to London.

He also formed a Trio which gave him three years of chamber music which eluded him during the "virtuoso" years, and he has rekindled his interest in Lieder. His outside interests include the theatre, literature and writing; he has been a keen photographer since childhood, and he is an ardent record collector. He writes his own programme and CD booklet notes, is the author of several articles, and is in the process of writing his autobiography.

Peter gave an anniversary recital at Wigmore Hall on 13 December 1998, exactly fifty years from the date of his début, celebrated his seventieth birthday in November 2000, and his seventy-fifth birthday in 2005.

At the same time, he is able to perform more locally appearing at a number of festivals and also to lend his artistry in support of charitable projects. CHERNOBYL PROJECT 

Peter gave a highly successful recital in Amsterdam on 30 April as part of the New Masters on Tour series. This was of particular importance as it was linked to the International Holland Music Sessions and the recently-formed International Lipatti-Haskil Foundation. It was also part of his 75th birthday celebrations and just a little more than the 50th anniversary of his European début, the same month and the same hall (Concertgebouw Recital Hall).  This is the review that appeared in Trouw.

Pianist Peter Katin returns to the Netherlands .
Peter Katin 30 April 2006
Concertgebouw

Fifty years ago, English pianist Peter Katin made his Dutch début in the ‘Kleine Zaal’ of the Concertgebouw. Since then he has had a shining international career, with hundreds of recordings and performances all over the world.

When the pianist walked on the platform with a slight limp, he looked vulnerable. But his playing is still very assured. In his earlier days, Katin was typecast as a virtuoso. Compared to the younger generation his playing is more thoughtful. Extremes in tempo, which is what makes Russian pianists so successful, is rare with Katin. He is sympathetic in that he does not push himself on the listener. He allows the music to sound in the way he believes it should without overstatement, and with complete concentration.

Katin began very remarkably with Sonata in F, a youthful work by Mozart that hardly ever gets played. Then in Debussy’s Estampes he allowed the grand piano to sound completely different with attention to the atmosphere of this impressionistic sound-world. He realised this with very accurate and subtle pedalling.

Also as a Chopin interpreter, Katin is much more modest than many younger pianists. This interpretation of the Ballade in A flat was extraordinarily beautiful and made especially classical by having few speeding-ups and slowing-downs. Glorious were the polyphonic lines in the middle which he knew how to bring forward.

Schubert’s last great Sonata in B flat is a work that is not for virtuosi but for mature, top musicians. The first movement and especially the Adagio have rarely brought out so much emotion in me as in the performance by Peter Katin.

Trouw, 2 May 2006

Diversions DIV24116

Diversions DIV24113

Liszt: Sonata in B minor
Brahms: Variations & Fugue on a theme by Handel
Liszt: Sonetto 123 del Petrarca (Années de Pélérinage, 2)

Athene-Minerva ATHCD9 23009

Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946
Valses Nobles, D.969
Moments Musicaux, D. 780

Diversions DIV23007

These works are played on a Clementi square piano of 1832 and are therefore a genuine reconstruction of the sort of sound heard in Schubert’s day. The instrument was restored by Andrew Lancaster.

Four Impromptus, D. 899
Four Impromptus, D. 935

Diversions CD24112
This disc is a direct replacement for Athene ATHCD5. Existing stocks of ATHCD5 may remain with dealers especially in the USA and Germany.

RP Music RP001

RP Music RP002

CCP (UK) delivers medical supplies and other humanitarian aid to Belarus. It supports a children’s hospice, trains orphanage staff to prepare children for fostering, and works with partners in Belarus to establish better care for children and young people with disabilities.

Peter Katin has given no less than eleven recitals in aid of the charity, organised by Carol West, co-ordinator for the London SW group.  His last recital in support of the Chernobyl Children’s Project was on 8 October 2006 at St Margaret’s Church in Rottingdean where he played to a packed audience and received a standing ovation; the next will be at St Peter's Church, Croydon CRO 1HG, on Saturday 1 March at 3.00pm.  Tickets from 020 8654 9446.

Arthur Boyd 
Tel/fax: +44 (0)1892 527710
email rpmusic@btinternet.com

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