Godowsky: Piano Sonata in E Minor; Passacaglia and 44 Variations
10/27/2023, 6 Tracks, 1:06:03
Featuring
Marc-André Hamelin
Leopold Godowsky
Did you know?
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Critical Reception
When Godowsky played his Piano Sonata in Berlin, German critics hailed it as the most important of its kind since Brahms's Sonata in F minor, Op. 5.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Godowsky believed his music was not difficult to play, despite its complex counterpoint and polyrhythmic devices, stating he wrote it "to fit the hand."
Composition History
The two large-scale solo piano works on this album, Godowsky's Sonata in E minor and Passacaglia, are his only full-length original compositions for the instrument, apart from a lost juvenile sonata and an unlocated third sonata.
Composer Biography
Godowsky's concert career, which established him as one of the world's highest-paid instrumentalists, was cruelly terminated by an incapacitating stroke in 1930.
Recording & Production
This album marks the first time Leopold Godowsky's Piano Sonata in E minor and Passacaglia have appeared together on the same disc.
Performer Biography
Marc-André Hamelin, the pianist on this recording, is known for his active interest in little-known repertoire, including works by Alkan, Bolcom, Godowsky, and Sorabji.
Composer Biography
Leopold Godowsky, born in 1870 in Lithuania, was largely self-taught but became one of the greatest pianists of his era and an original composer.
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