Customer Reviews

Godowsky: The Complete Studies on Chopin's Etudes

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The astonishing Marc-Andre Hamelin has done it again. This two CD set is now the best available recording of these amazing pieces. Not that pianists have been lining up to tackle them. I know of only two other pianists that have dared to record a complete performance: Geoffrey Douglas Madge (whose recording of these pieces is, I believe, out of print now) and Carlo Grante. You may draw any conclusion you please from the fact that Madge took four CDs, Grante three, but Hamelin only two to traverse these finger breakers. Godowsky (1870-1938) was, perhaps, the greatest pianist that has ever lived. He was playing the piano at three years of age, and that without lessons! His understanding of the modern piano and its capablities was unique and profound. All of the great pianists of his day (and he lived in an age of masters - players like Rachmaninov, Hoffmann, Grainger, and Busoni were his peers) held him in awe. Godowsky's "Fifty-three Studies based upon twenty-six Etudes of Chopin" are infamous for their murderous difficulty. Twenty two of the studies are for the left hand alone. Several of them contrapuntally combine two of Chopin's etudes at the same time. The results have been vilified by many as a blasphemy against Chopin; however, Godowsky loved Chopin's music and considered these pieces an act of reverence. They are unique in the piano literature and every lover of the instrument should be familiar with them. It takes a musician of Mr. Hamelin's Olympian gifts to do them justice though. It was said in Godowsky's day that he was writing for a future generation of pianists. Mr Hamelin shows that generation has arrived with a vengeance. These fascinating CDs are well worth your time and money, don't hesitate to purchase them.

The famous critic Harold Schonberg once described Godowsky's Studies on Chopin's Etudes as "probably the most impossibly difficult things ever written for the piano". Others, however, view it as a corruption of Chopin's originals, which are amongst the most important and reverred compositions for the piano.

Godowsky himself was a giant of the keyboard and a great interpreter of Chopin (although his recording legacy doesn't appear to do him justice as he never felt comfortable in the confines of the ancient recording studio). He certainly has managed to push pianistic technique to its very limits in these 53 Studies. However, besides being pianistically effective, the writer finds the great majority of the pieces to be very musical and, in quite a few instances (e.g. No. 13 in E flat minor, No. 25 in A flat major, No. 36 in G sharp minor, No. 45 in E major), the effect is exquisite.

In fact, Godowsky was rather faithful to Chopin's originals in most cases. However, his re-workings often involve a thicking of the textures, the addition of intricate and often amusing counter-points, inversion of figurations, and a re-distribution of the melodic strands between the hands. In particular, those Studies written for the left hand alone (numbering 22 in all) can be regarded as landmarks for keyboard composition for a single hand, and listeners will be amazed by the sonorities and possibilities that can be achieved by one hand alone. One has to hear to believe!

These daunting works can hardly find a better advocate than in Marc-Andre Hamelin. Aided by a warm and natural recorded sound, he is not only able to toss off the most deliriously difficult passages with apparent ease (a remarkable achievement by itself), his performances are also unfailingly musical, sensitive and have keen regard as to mood and tone colour. Such a combination of hair-raising virtuosity and good musical taste is definitely a thing to marvel at. Besides, these performances also show that Hamelin has a thorough understanding of Chopin's original Etudes and, in the CD booklet, the pianist has offered brief notes on each of the Studies.

All in all, an immensely enjoyable and revelatory set and an amazing achievement. Whether or not Godowsky's re-workings are sacrilegious and notwithstanding the fact that some will feel that the pudding may have been a bit over-egged, this awesome set can still be regarded as a triumphant celebration of the art of piano playing. As such, it should not be missed by pianophiles.

Ten years ago, following a severe accident where I broke my right upper forearm and my shoulder, I undertook paraphrasing eight of the Chopin etudes to be played with the left hand alone. I was really proud of that accomplishment: I stayed faithful (mostly) to the original compositions, and I thought my paraphrases were wickedly difficult to play!

After listening to Hamelin's performance of the Godowsky Paraphrases on the Chopin Etudes, I have concluded:

1) Godowsky's paraphrases leave mine in the dust, both technically and musically.
2) Hamelin's performance of Godowski's paraphrases is nothing short of amazing.

These paraphrases are FIENDISHLY difficult to play -- but Hamelin makes them sound almost *easy*. It would be one thing merely to be able to PLAY these paraphrases -- and some of us have the technique to pull it off; but Hamelin's technique is so completely secure that one hears the tonal coloring, the inner voices, the occasional canons and the utter musicality of the compositions which Godowsky obviously wants us to hear.

In particular, listen to the performances of the Etudes arranged for the left hand alone. A good left hand transcription (or composition) should give the effect of two hands playing the instrument -- Godowsky (and Hamelin) often give the impression of *three* hands playing.

Note: if you are a Chopin "purist", you're probably not going to like these paraphrases. Godowsky is strongly influenced by the post-Romantic musical idiom in the time he wrote, and you'll hear very strong elements of the pianistic and harmonic language used by Scriabin and (particularly) Rachmaninov infused throughout each paraphrase. (Actually, I think Godowsky's musical language is very effective for what he does with these pieces!)

On the other hand, if you approach these paraphrases with an open mind just to see what can be done with the material Godowsky used -- and you want to hear it exquisitely performed -- you're in for a REAL treat!

Here's a question: What do you do once you have polished the most difficuly pianistic studies? Only Marc-Andre Hamelin knows the answer to that question!

Godowsky's arrangements are really fantastic. He really makes them sound totally different, afresh and alive. This task has been pulled off easily by Mr Hamelin, as if he has been playing them since 13. I am a Chopin fan and I really enjoyed listening to how different they can be!

If you are a bit weary of buying this disc because maybe you think Chopin can't get better, well you are wrong. This really provides an interesting approach to the studies and it is a phenomenal achievement. The true Chopin is still in the studies, but certain things are given a more prominent role here and there.

Hamelin's performance really suits the music, he plays with such elegance and remarkable interpretations, brilliant fingerwork with excellent pedalling - I define a masterful pianist as one who uses the pedal only to enhance an effect - and this is exactly what Mr Hamelin does! He does not put a foot or finger wrong!

The 70 page booklet is full of interesting things about these works and I really enjoyed Hamelins own commentaries on the etudes which highlight certain features about each particular piece.

The music is really enjoyable, but I agree with Mr Hamelin- you cannot listen to all of the studies in one go - it is too much to digest. ...

Summary: Gorgeous sonics, excellent performer, masterful works, and above all a magnificent price all add up to a perfect item for your shopping list!

Bon apetit!
Gareth Ross

There are three complete recordings of the Chopin/Godowsky Etudes--those by Madge, Carlo Grante, and this new one by Hamelin. Neither Madge nor Grante even comes close. Hamelin makes music out of these thickets of notes, tossing off the difficulties with apparent ease. The music itself is amazing. Many of the transcriptions bear little resemblance to the Chopin originals; but they are original, and winning, in their own right. Don't hesitate.

As an audiophile, I place great emphasis on sound quality. Unfortunately many reviewers fail to comment on this aspect of recordings. I have to recommend this album for its excellent piano sound and low noise floor on these grounds.
Performance-wise I am not a musical expert, I purchased this on the strength of the great reviews. It is obviously well played and technically imposing music...but I prefer the simplicity of Chopins Etudes. The Godowsky studies can be over complex and rob the original etudes they are based upon of some of their charm. Nevertheless an excellent album.

I bought the CD about a week ago and I've been listening to it constantly. This is piano composition and performance at the highest level of artistry. It just doesn't get any better than this. Hamelin's virtuosity is incredible, and it is perfectly matched by his level of musical understanding.

Both Godowsky and Hamelin are paying a supreme tribute to Chopin - it feels that all three musical souls involved have merged. Perhaps another way to put it is that if Chopin had been born 60 years later, this is the music he would have written, and if he was recording today, this would have been his recording of his own music.

To say anything negative about the music being Godowsky and not Chopin is like saying something negative about Verdi's Otello not being Shakespeare.

One more thought - after listening to this, I find it harder to listen to Chopin's original Etudes. They now seem more like a structure or scaffolding without the final touches being put on. True, there is a lot more musical space (fewer voices, simpler counterpointer, much simpler harmonies), but after the opulence of Godowsky, I don't want to go back.

When I first listened to these "studies" on Chopin etudes (quite literally, studies on studies!), I was, of course, impressed with the difficulty of some of the music, but some of the studies impressed me less. Oh, to be sure, there was a lot of difficult-sounding fingerwork, but they were not quite as difficult as I had expected. After all, are not these studies the most difficult piano music ever written? But then I looked at the booklet that comes with CDs and noticed that many of the studies are written for the left hand alone. That is why they had sounded "relatively" easy. After I recovered from the shock of this, I listened again with new found wonder. These are extraordinary works played with extraordinary flair, sensitivity, and technical accomplishment. Unlike some reviewers, I did not find them tiresome in the least. As a matter of fact, they are very beautiful and endlessly fascinating. There is little in the way of empty virtuosity. Godowsky's embellishments, far from detracting from the originals, expand the musical and pianistic possibilities of Chopin's etudes in a number of important ways, especially in regards to polyphony and tone color. Highly recommended.

This set is testament to Mr. Hamelin's technique. For those who want greater understanding, read not only the liner notes, but all the copious notes and annotations in The Godowsky Collection, Vol. 3 (Paperback)
by Millan Sachania (Compiler.) I arranged the music on my Ipod so Iwould listen to the original etude, and then the studies after it. Kind of like a "piece and variations". I won't add what others have already said about how great Hamelin is, but I do want to clarify something said in one of the poorest reviews. The reviewer criticizes Godowsky for saying that there are deficiencies in the Chopin etudes, and the reviewer took offense. The "deficiencies" that Godowsky are referring to are in terms of technique, not the writing. Godowsky adored the etudes. He wanted to clear up "left-hand technique" deficiencies (if I read the book correctly). THat's why the tricky right hand parts are switched to the left hand, become the accompaniment, and a newer (and sometimes harder) part is added for the right hand. Please check out the score above which contains warmup exercises by Godowsky to prepare you to learn the studies for yourself.

Mr. Hamelin has distinguished himself once again with the complete traversal of Godowsky's monumental oeuvre of the Chopin Etudes. The fleet, fleecy, flowing and fantastic pianism of this distinguished artist brings the lights and shadows of these works to full bloom. This hefty, gigantic gift to listening should be accompanied by all musicians with score in hand to fully enjoy the intricacies of the pianism and complicated writing. For those who enjoy a "sonority" experience without score.....listen with full ears and complete attention. Don't risk using this as "background or elevator music." You will miss ALL THE FUN AND FANTASY. This CD is a must for all lovers of fantasy, fun, fragrance and fascination.