Question about your signature:

quote:

[Godowsky is] the only musician of his age to give a lasting [and] real contribution to the development of piano music." Sergei Rachmaninoff

I'm not too familiar with his original compositions. Which do you recommend I listen to?


(I must add I am too big a fan of Ravel to share the opinion of Rachmaninoff. Not to mention Scriabin, Rachmaninoff himself, or other contemporaries...)

Jon: First question. do you have decent Internet speed? I have tons of stuff. I will zip up an RaR file with mp3s and scores included. let me know because I will give you the Megaupload link if thats ok. His original works are fantastic. They include but not limited to: A sonata, polonaise, his "Java Suite", a Passacaglia(dedicated to Schubert-based on the opening bars of his "unfinished symphony, also includes an immense fugue) and much much more....have you heard his concert transcriptions of Strauss waltzes?

Mmmm.. my internet speed is substandard. Download speeds around 1MB.

I also prefer to purchase copyrighted material.



If you recommend your favorite recording of his collected original works, I'll buy it.

I probably have the scores already, I have a large book of collected Godowsky works (which I bought to look at the Godowsky/Chopin studies)


Do you really think his contribution to piano music was greater than that of Rachmaninoff, Ravel, or Scriabin?

Do you think that maybe R. qualified this with "of his age" to amke this statement more narrow than it appears to be? in addition I never heard that particular quote before.

Perhaps, but the three I mentioned are almost the same age -


Godowsky - b. 1870
Scriabin - b. 1872
Rach - b. 1873
Ravel - b. 1875

Jon, I have several of Konstantin Scherbakov's recordings of Godowsky on Marco Polo. I haven't listened to them recently, so I can't give a definite recommendation as to which is the best one to sample his original compositions. IIRC, the Java Suite, the Sonata, and "The Gardens of Buitenzorg" (No. 8 from Java Suite, Stephen Hough plays it really well on his Piano Album), are ones to sample.

Hamelin recorded some of the original compositions, the Sonata and the Passacaglia (based on a theme from the Schubert Unfinished), and of course his Chopin/Godowsky Etudes are outstanding. The other one I really like is Boris Berezovsky's live recording (!!) that came out last year where he alternates between the original etude and Godowsky's version.

Tav - I'll check out the Hamelin, and whatever Rach On recommends.

Re Berezovsky - there are excerpts of his playing the Chopin/Godowsky set live in Mexico City on youtube. 10/4 is my favorite!

Jon, the youtube video I like is Berezovsky playing them at the Louvre, especially Op. 25, No. 1 ("Aeolian Harp"). When I first got the CD I followed along with the music and was bowled over by how staggeringly difficult this one is since it sounds as if there are 3 parts being played simultaneously. Berezovsky plays it with ease. Amazing playing!