Hamelin: Godowsky – The Complete Studies on Chopin’s Etudes (2 CD, APE)

Performer: Marc-Andre Hamelin
Composer: Leopold Godowsky, Frederic Chopin
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Hyperion
Size: 431 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc: 1
01. Study No.1 in C, 1st Version (From Etude in C, Op.10 No.1): Allegro Maestoso
02. Study No.2 in D flat, 2nd Version (From Etude in C, Op.10 No.1): Allegro
03. Study No.3 in a, 1st Version (From Etude in a, Op.10 No.2): Allegro
04. Study No.4 in a ‘Ignis Fatuus’, 2nd Version (From Etude in a, Op.10 No.2): Allegro
05. Study No.5 in D flat (From Etude in E, Op.10 No.3): Lento Ma Non Troppo
06. Study No.6 in c# (From Etude in c#, Op.10 No.4): Presto
07. Study No.7 in G flat, 1st Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.10 No.5): Vivace
08. Study No.8 in C, 2nd Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.10 No.5): Vivace
09. Study No.9 in a ‘Tarantella’, 3rd Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.10 No.5): Vivace
10. Study No.10 in A, 4th Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.10 No.5): Vivace
11. Study No.11 in G flat, 5th Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.10 No.5): Vivace
12. Study No.12 in G flat, 6th Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.10 No.5): Vivace
13. Study No.12a in G flat, 7th Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.10 No.5): Vivace
14. Study No.13 in e flat (From Etude in e flat, Op.10 No.6): Quaver=108-132
15. Study No.14 in C ‘Toccata’, 1st Version (From Etude in C, Op.10 No.7): Vivace
16. Study No.15 in G flat ‘Nocturne’, 2nd Version (From Etude in C, Op.10 No.7): Allegretto Espressivo
17. Study No.15a in E flat, 3rd Version (Etude in C, Op.10 No.7): Allegro
18. Study No.16 in F, 1st Version (From Etude in F, Op.10 No.8): Allegro Risoluto
19. Study No.16a in G flat, 2nd Version (From Etude in F, Op.10 No.8): Allegro
20. Study No.17 in c#, 1st Version (From Etude in f, Op.10 No.9): Allegretto
21. Study No.18 in f, 2nd Version (From Etude in f, Op.10 No.9): Mesto
22. Study No.18a in f#, 3rd Version (From Etude in f, Op.10 No.9): Allegretto
23. Study No.19 in D, 1st Version (From Etude in A flat, Op.10 No.10): Allegro Moderato
24. Study No.20 in A flat, 2nd Version (From Etude in A flat, Op.10 No.10): Presto Ma Non Troppo
25. Study No.21 in A (From Etude in E flat, Op.10 No.11): Allegretto Sostenuto
26. Study No.22 in c# (From Etude in c, Op.10 No.12): Allegro Con Fuoco
27. Study No.23 in A flat, 1st Version (From Etude in A flat, Op.25 No.1): Allegro Sostenuto
28. Study No.24 in A flat, 2nd Version (From Etude in A flat, Op.25 No.1): Allegro Sostenuto

Disc: 2
01. Study No.25 in A flat, 3rd Version (From Etude in A flat, Op.25 No.1): Allegro Sostenuto
02. Study No.26 in f, 1st Version (From Etude in f, Op.25 No.2): Vivace
03. Study No.27 in f ‘Waltz’, 2nd Version (From Etude in f, Op.25 No.2): Tempo Di Valse
04. Study No.28 in f, 3rd Version (Version A)(From Etude in f, Op.25 No.2): Allegro Moderato
05. Study No.28 in f, 3rd Version (Version B)(From Etude in f, Op.25 No.2): Allegro Moderato
06. Study No.28a in f#, 4th Version (From Etude in f, Op.25 No.2): Presto Ma Non Troppo
07. Study No.29 in F, 1st Version (From Etude in F, Op.25 No.3): Allegro Moderato
08. Study No.30 in F, 2nd Version (From Etude in F, Op.25 No.3): Allegro Moderato
09. Study No.31 in a, 1st Version (From Etude in a, Op.25 No.4): Allegro Moderato
10. Study No.32 in f ‘Polonaise’, 2nd Version 9From Etude in a, Op.25 No.4): Allegro Drammatico
11. Study No.33 in e, 1st Version (From Etude in e, Op.25 No.5): Allegro Ma Non Troppo
12. Study No.34 in c# ‘Mazurka’, 2nd Version (From Etude in e, Op.25 No.5): Tempo Di Mazurka
13. Study No.35 in b flat, 3rd Version (From Etude in e, Op.25 No.5): Allegro Moderato
14. Study No.36 in g# (From Etude in g#, Op.25 No.6): Allegro
15. Study No.38 in D flat (From Etude in D flat, Op.25 No.8): Allegro Sostenuto E Cantabile
16. Study No.39 in G flat, 1st Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.25 No.9): Allegro Vivace
17. Study No.40 in G flat, 2nd Version (From Etude in G flat, Op.25 No.9): Allegro
18. Study No.41 in b (From Etude in b, Op.25 No.10): Allegro Con Fuoco
19. Study No.42 in a (From Etude in a, Op.25 No.11): Lento – Allegro Con Brio
20. Study No.43 in c# (From Etude in c, Op. 25 No.12): Allegro Molto E Con Fuoco
21. Study No.44 in f (From Nouvelle Etude No.1 in f): Allegretto Con Moto
22. Study No.45 in E, 1st Version (From Nouvelle Etude No.2 in A flat): Allegretto
23. Study No.45a in D flat, 2nd Version (From Nouvelle Etude No.2 in A flat): Allegretto
24. Study No.46 in G ‘Menuetto’ (From Nouvelle Etude No.3 in D flat): Allegretto Grazioso
25. Study No.47 in G flat ‘Badinage’ (From Etudes in G flat, Op.10 No.5/Op.25 No.9 Combined): Vivace…
26. Study No.48 in F (From Etudes in E flat, Op.10 No.11/in F, Op.25 No.3, Combined): Allegretto…

Whatever the ultimate verdict about the music, there’s no way around this recording

I am not sure there is very much to add to what’s already been said about this set. Leopold Godowsky’s 53 Studies on the Etudes of Chopin will continue to divide opinion – there is little doubt that his reworkings border on and often cross the line to the bizarre, and that they are (legitimately) viewed as something of a Platonic idea of fin-de-siècle decadence (a contradiction in terms, yes, and intentionally so). Though the original etudes are already fairly challenging (at least some of them), Godowsky has taken the technical challenges to the extreme, and in the process twisted, broken, ornamented and embellished the originals, sometimes to the point where the original is almost covered by torrents and maelstroms and storms of new notes. Not everything is successful, and it would be hard to argue that he “improves” upon the originals – but that wasn’t Godowsky’s goal either; indeed, his goal was at least nominally the same as Chopin’s, namely to help pianists (virtuosos, definitely) improve their technique with music of genuine artistic merit.

That said, I’d wager that few pianists would be able to play these pieces in anything close to an artistically satisfying manner – and many of these works will elicit only incredulous stares on first listening (or viewing). And though several of them may not sound technically insurmountable for a professional pianist, that is probably because they are for the left hand alone (such as the Revolutionary Etude transcription). Enter Marc-André Hamelin (but of course). Well, to tell it in brief: this is pianism that defies belief, from the first note to the last. Not only is Hamelin able to defeat any technical obstacle thrown his way, he makes it sound easy (well, sometimes); the phrasing remains wonderful, the textures clean, with every torrent of notes sounding as otherworldly, glittering fireworks of such ridiculous brilliance that it may lack any worthy comparison in the history of piano recordings (perhaps apart from Hamelin’s own Alkan recordings).

Now, I will readily admit that this music is not for everybody, and I remained very unsure for quite a while. Though many of the arrangements are fairly straight, even in these the elegance, beauty and moods of the original works are muffled by Godowsky’s flowing rum ball textures, and resetting one’s expectations for the experience is actually not always that easy (and the studies should certainly be taken one at a time – more than three in one go will give you the mental and aural equivalent of a stomach pain). Slowly, however, the listener will (at least this listener did) realize that Godowsky’s embellishments aren’t just cheap tricks to dazzle audiences – though there are a couple of these as well. I suppose that, if you are in doubt, you could try no. 47, which actually combines Chopin’s op. 10 no. 5 (which, by the away, makes an appearance in no less than seven of these studies) with op. 25 no. 9 into a single monster of a piece.

In any case, and whatever you verdict may ultimately be, this is an experience like nothing else, and as such this disc is something of a must. I have only heard a few selections from Hamelin’s previous recording of (several of) these studies, but if nothing else the Hyperion sound is clearly superior, and the notes are exemplary.