György Cziffra: Parisian Homage to the “Pianist with 50 Fingers”

A special theatrical performance in Paris pays tribute to Hungarian pianist György Cziffra (1921-1994) by his former pupil, the internationally renowned French virtuoso Pascal Amoyel.

Le Pianiste aux 50 doigts (The pianist with 50 fingers), an eighty-minute performance at the Montparnasse Theater, directed by Christian Fromont, begins with a personal story in which Pascal Amoyel, one of the best-known French interpreters of works by Chopin, Liszt, and Beethoven, recounts his first encounter with György Cziffra. In 1983, at the age of 12, the French pianist, on the advice of his concierge, sought out the Hungarian virtuoso, who was already living in Paris and had shortly before set up a foundation to support young artists.

The pupil spent eight years with the Hungarian master, who took such a liking to him that one day he began to tell him about his incredible life in Hungary,

before he became a world-famous pianist in Paris following his defection in 1956. First, about his childhood in Angyalföld (13th District of Budapest), where his talent quickly became apparent, and at the age of five he became a star attraction for a traveling circus passing through. During the storytelling, the pianist performs Schumann’s Kinderszenen, then plays a piece by the Russian composer Scriabin on the piano in the middle of the stage.

The French pianist then tells the story of how Cziffra became the youngest student ever admitted to the Budapest Academy of Music at the age of nine, with real acting flair. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Cziffra was conscripted and became a tank driver, and here the tone of the performance takes on a sadder tone. Amoyel is already playing Ferenc Liszt’s Funérailles when this episode is retold. The storytelling picks up speed: Cziffra deserted, jumped on a train to Russia, but was first arrested and interned by the Soviets. Amoyel evokes the feelings his master felt at the time through Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance.

After György Cziffra’s release in 1946, his life took a new turn: like his father, he became a bar pianist in the nightlife of Pest. In 1950, he tried to leave Hungary with his wife and young sons, but his escape was unsuccessful and he was sent to Miskolc (northeastern Hungary) as a political prisoner to the construction site of the Mátyás Rákosi University for Heavy Industry, where he was assigned to stone-cutting. Amoyel is now fully in the skin of his master, and presents a virtuoso improvisation worthy of Cziffra: in addition to the hits of the 1940s, he plays Happy Birthday in the style of Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, Schoenberg, or ragtime, recalling his master’s encounters with American jazz musicians. Cziffra returned to classical music in 1954, and the performance concludes with an excerpt from his first major concert at home, given at the Liszt Academy, performed by Amoyel.

The next performance will take place on Friday in the main hall of the Montparnasse Theater.

Via MTI, Ungarn Heute; Featured image: Facebook/Théâtre Montparnasse & Petit Montparnasse