Peter Katin

Peter Roy Katin (born 14 November 1930, London) is a British pianist.

Contents

Biography

He attended Whitgift School in South Croydon and was admitted to the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 12, four years younger than the official entry age, where he studied under Harold Craxton. Katin made his debut at the Wigmore Hall on 13 December 1948 where the programme included works by Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Chopin. He went on to give concerts in England, Europe, Africa, the USA, and Japan.

In 1952, Katin debuted at The Proms and in 1953 was acclaimed for his performance there of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. In 1958, Katin became the first British pianist to make a post-war solo tour of the Soviet Union. In 1961, the composer Bryan Kelly wrote Tango especially for Katin.

Katin specialises in Romantic music, particularly Frédéric Chopin, and Impressionist music. He is acclaimed for his technical command of the piano. He also directed concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven from the keyboard.

Katin has written many articles on piano technique and interpretation. He lectured at the Royal Academy of Music 1956–1959, University of Western Ontario 1978–1984, and in 1992 was appointed to the Royal College of Music. He has also lectured at Thames Valley University.

He lives in Bexhill-on-Sea.

Recordings

Katin’s recordings include:

Johannes Brahms

Liszt: Sonata in B minor
Brahms: Variations and Fugue on a theme of Handel
Liszt: Sonetto 123 del Petrarca (Années de Pélérinage, Book 2)
Athene-Minerva ATHCD9 23009

Frédéric Chopin

Variations Brilliantes, Op. 12, Mazurka in G minor, Op. 24, No. 1, Mazurka in C major, Op. 24, No. 2, Mazurka in A flat major, Op. 24, No. 3, Mazurka in B flat minor, Op. 24, No. 4, Mazurka in F minor, Op. 68, No. 4, Rondo in C minor, Op. 1, Souvenir de Paganini, Nocturne in C sharp minor, Waltz in D flat major, Op. 64, No. 1, Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2, Waltz in A flat major, Op. 64, No. 3, Sonata in C minor, Op. 4 (3rd mvmt), Polonaise in G minor, KK IIa, No. 1, Polonaise in B flat major, KK IVa, No. 1, Polonaise in A flat major, KK Iva, No. 2, Berceuse, Op. 57
Athene ATHCD11 / Diversions DIV24116

Muzio Clementi

Sonata in F sharp minor, Op.25, No. 5, Sonata in B flat major, Op. 24, No. 2, Sonata in G minor, Op. 7, No. 3, Sonata in D major, Op. 25, No. 6, Sonata in F minor, Op.13, No. 6
Athene ATHCD4 / Diversions DIV24113

Edvard Grieg

Aram Khachaturian

Franz Liszt

Liszt: Sonata in B minor
Brahms: Variations and Fugue on a theme of Handel
Liszt: Sonetto 123 del Petrarca (Années de Pélérinage, Book 2)
Athene-Minerva ATHCD9 23009

William Mathias

Felix Mendelssohn

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Alessandro Scarlatti

Franz Schubert

(Played on a Clementi square piano of 1832.)
Athene-Minerva ATHCD7 / Diversions DIV23007
Four Impromptus, D.899
Four Impromptus, D.935
Diversions CD24112

Robert Schumann

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

William Walton

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Various

Bach: Prelude and Fugue in B flat minor (from the Well Tempered Clavier - Book 1)
Mozart: Rondo in A minor
Beethoven: Piano Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2 ("Moonlight")
Schubert: Impromptus in G flat and E flat, from D.899
Debussy: Suite bergamasque
Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61
RP Music RP001

External links