Notes and Editorial Reviews
Volume 2 of Ward Marston's complete Leopold Godowsky edition picks up the chronological survey of the pianist's acoustic Brunswick recordings begun in Volume 1. These include all items Godowsky approved for release along with numerous unpublished sides, some of which collectors may have encountered on earlier LP and CD reissues. In my review of Volume 1 (type Q8351 in Search Reviews) I discussed Godowsky's frustrations and struggles with the limitations of early recording techniques, and the often uneven results that ensued from his endeavors. As it happens, most of the material on Volume 2 shows Godowsky's keyboard artistry in far more flattering light.
Disc 1 opens with a powerful, well-proportioned reading of Rachmaninov's
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ubiquitous C-sharp minor Prelude that easily rivals the authority of the composer's own recordings, while seriousness and scintillation happily mate in both Dohnányi's F minor Capriccio and the Chopin/Liszt "Maiden's Wish". Chopin's two G-flat Etudes, E-flat Op. 18 Waltz, and A-flat Op. 42 Waltz may seem overly sober and charmless to 21st-century ears, yet Godowsky's well-considered left-hand details should give modern-day pianists ample food for thought. The same goes for Chopin's D-flat Nocturne (I prefer Godowsky's more expansive electrical recording for Columbia) and Liszt's La Leggierezza.
Certain selections reflect the era's customary cutting down of longer works to fit within the limitations of a single 12-inch 78-rpm side. No doubt this irritated Godowsky, and I'd wager that this is reflected in the odd flustered moments that occur during otherwise strong, aristocratically molded takes of the Chopin A-flat Polonaise and Verdi/Liszt Rigoletto Paraphrase. It also may account for the demonic drive characterizing Chopin's B-flat minor Scherzo and Liszt's Tarantella from "Venezia e Napoli" (Godowsky's cuts differ from Josef Hofmann's better known recording), as well as the mechanical indifference I detect from Chopin's A-flat Ballade.
The stately Chopin Military Polonaise (Op. 40 No. 1) and ritard-laden Berceuse prove far more fluid and cohesive in Godowsky's unpublished 1924 test pressings than in his earlier "official" readings included in Volume 1. Four Debussy items compensate by subtle tonal gradations for what they lack in the hazy shimmer so often associated with this repertoire (thanks to Walter Gieseking).
Nearly all the old-timers carried lightweight encores in their public portfolios, and that may explain Godowsky's attraction to (and splendid playing of) a pair of works by two obscure Americans: Camille Zeckwer's In a Boat and Eastwood Lane's The Crap Shooters. Mark Arnest's annotations discuss the recordings from a musicological standpoint that's aimed more at specialists and scholars than general audiences. Lastly, we must salute the consistent excellence of Ward Marston's clean, realistic transfers. Volume 3 promises some of Godowsky's greatest recordings (the Grieg Ballade, the Chopin Fourth Scherzo), so stay tuned.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording
2.
Venezia e Napoli, S 162: no 3, Tarantella by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Leopold Godowsky (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1859; Weimar, Germany
Date of Recording: 5/1922
Notes: This is an abridged version of this work.
23.
Musical snuffbox, Op. 32 by Anatole Liadov
Performer:
Leopold Godowsky (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: by 1893; Russia
Date of Recording: 1/1924
26.
La lisonjera, Op. 50 by Cécile Louise Chaminade
Performer:
Leopold Godowsky (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: by c1890; France
Date of Recording: 2/1924
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