Leopold Godowsky
Godowsky's Studies on Chopin's Études turn already demanding pieces into labyrinths of counterpoint, left-hand bravura and interlocking textures. His Passacaglia and Schubert song paraphrases share the same dense, glittering pianism.
Written to open up technical possibilities few had imagined, the Chopin studies often exist in multiple versions of a single original: black keys, white keys, tarantella, inversions, left hand alone. They remain among the most exacting works in the literature, yet the finest playing makes the polyphony sing rather than merely survive. The Passacaglia piles forty-four variations, cadenza and fugue on the opening of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony into one vast span. His Schubert lieder transcriptions keep the melodic line clear while wrapping it in rich chromatic harmony, and music drawn from the Java Suite carries gamelan colour onto the Western keyboard.
Leopold Godowsky is featured on the following titles
Twenty-Five (DVD)
After a break from the Chopin Op. 10 études and Godowsky studies, David Stanhope returns to some of the most fiendish piano repertoire: the Godowsky Studies on Chopin's Études, Op. 25.
Ten (DVD)
David Stanhope returns to the keyboard for some of the most technically fiendish piano repertoire: Godowsky’s Studies on Chopin’s Études, Op. 10. Written to open up new possibilities of pianism, they still astonish modern listeners.
Galop!: Virtuosic Orchestral Transcriptions
Stanhope is one of the very few Australian composers who takes on the challenge of transcribing piano works for orchestra. Composers once did this themselves to open other performing paths for popular pieces. Imagination, craft and creativity make the results thrilling.
TEN
Making a welcome return to the keyboard, David Stanhope tackles some of the most technically fiendish repertoire in the piano literature – Godowsky’s Studies on Chopin’s Études Op. 10.
David Stanhope Plays
David Stanhope is known throughout Australia as one of the few resident conductors of note. His talents are much broader: a prolific composer, especially of wind band music (see TP107), and a pianist of formidable technique.
Compositions by Leopold Godowsky also appear on
Australian Fantasia: Orchestral Works by David Stanhope
Orchestral works by David Stanhope and four of his transcriptions, realised with a digital orchestra. Apart from Olympic Fireworks, written for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony, these scores had not been heard in public performance.
Virtuoso Transcriptions
These ‘one take’ studio recordings were made for ABC broadcast about a decade before release. That they stand as a finished album is a tribute to David Stanhope’s prodigious musicianship and technique.