Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 1 (Op. 10/1) 1st version: C major
2. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 2 (Op. 10/1) 2nd version: D flat major (left hand)
3. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 3 (Op. 10/2) 1st version: A minor (left hand)
4. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 4 (Op. 10/2) 2nd version: A minor ('Ignis fatuus')
5. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 5 (Op. 10/3) D flat major (left hand)
6. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 6 (Op. 10/4) C sharp minor (left hand)
7. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 7 (Op. 10/5) 1st version: G flat major
8. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 8 (Op. 10/5) 2nd version: C major
9. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 9 (Op. 10/5) 3rd version: A minor ('Tarantella')
10. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 10 (Op. 10/5) 4th version: A major ('Capriccio')
11. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 11 (Op. 10/5) 5th version: G flat major
12. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 12 (Op. 10/5) 6th version: G flat major
13. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 12a (Op. 10/5) 7th version: G flat major (left hand)
14. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 13 (Op. 10/6) E flat minor (left hand)
15. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 14 (Op. 10/7) 1st version: C major ('Toccata')
16. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 15 (Op. 10/7) 2nd version: G flat major ('Nocturne')
17. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 15a (Op. 10/7) 3rd version: E flat major (left hand)
18. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 16 (Op. 10/8) 1st version: F major
19. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 16a (Op. 10/8) 2nd version: G flat major (left hand)
20. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 17 (Op. 10/9) 1st version: C sharp minor
21. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 18 (Op. 10/9) 2nd version: F minor (Imitation of Op. 25/2)
22. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 18a (Op. 10/9) 3rd version: F sharp minor (left hand)
23. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 19 (Op. 10/10) 1st version: D major
24. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 20 (Op. 10/10) 2nd version: A flat major (left hand)
25. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 21 (Op. 10/11) A major (left hand)
26. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 22 (Op. 10/12) C sharp minor (left hand)
27. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 23 (Op. 25/1) 1st version: A flat major (left hand)
28. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 24 (Op. 25/1) 2nd version: A flat major (like a piece for 4 hands)

Disc 2:

1. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 25 (Op. 25/1) 3rd version: A flat major
2. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 26 (Op. 25/2) 1st version: F minor
3. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 27 (Op. 25/2) 2nd version: F minor ('Waltz')
4. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 28 (Op. 25/2) 3rd version - A: F minor
5. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 28 (Op. 25/2) 3rd version - B: F minor
6. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 28a (Op. 25/2) 4th version: F sharp minor (left hand)
7. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 29 (Op. 25/3) 1st version: F major
8. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 30 (Op. 25/3) 2nd version: F major (left hand)
9. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 31 (Op. 25/4) 1st version: A minor (left hand)
10. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 32 (Op. 25/4) 2nd version: F minor ('Polonaise')
11. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 34 (Op. 25/5) 2nd version: C sharp minor ('Mazurka')
12. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 35 (Op. 25/5) 3rd version: B flat minor (left hand)
13. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 36 (Op. 25/6) G sharp minor
14. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 38 (Op. 25/8) D flat major
15. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 39 (Op. 25/9) 1st version: G flat major
16. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 40 (Op. 25/9) 2nd version: G flat major (left hand)
17. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 41 (Op. 25/10) B minor (left hand)
18. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 42 (Op. 25/11) A minor
19. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 43 (Op. 25/12) C sharp minor (left hand)
20. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 45 (Méth. M-F No. 2) 1st version: E major
21. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 45a (Méth. M-F No. 2) 2nd version: D flat major (left hand)
22. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 46 (Méth. M-F No. 3) G major ('Menuetto')
23. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 47 (Op. 10/5 and Op. 25/9) G flat major ('Badinage', 2 studies combined)
24. Studies (54) on Chopin Etudes for piano: No. 48 (Op. 10/11 and Op. 25/3) F major (2 studies combined)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139299 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-11
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .31 pounds

Amazon.com
While some great pianists play the core works we've heard countless times, Marc Andre-Hamelin has an affinity for those lesser-heard gems. On his recording of Busoni's epic Piano Concerto, Op. 38, the pianist revealed abilities that couldn't be overshadowed by the complex composition at hand. But his take on Godowsky's thoroughly challenging studies on Chopin's Études is, quite simply, mind-boggling. Godowsky's 53 studies are some of the most difficult piano pieces ever written, requiring performers to dissect, reverse hand positions, and dramatically change the tempo of Chopin's well-loved compositions (not to mention his 22 transcriptions of the Études to be played by left hand alone!). Originally written as a playful diversion by Godowsky (1870-1938), a self-taught composer barely in his 20s, these pieces never sacrifice listening experience for ivory pyrotechnics. They're a joy to hear--a fresh (and sometimes dizzying) take on Chopin, with added voices, multiple arabesques, and inventive fingering positions. Hamelin handles it all, making these challenges sound like a walk in the park. A great recording. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews

A New Standard for These Pieces
The astonishing Marc-Andre Hamelin has done it again. This two CD set is now the best available recording of these amazing pieces. Not that pianists have been lining up to tackle them. I know of only two other pianists that have dared to record a complete performance: Geoffrey Douglas Madge (whose recording of these pieces is, I believe, out of print now) and Carlo Grante. You may draw any conclusion you please from the fact that Madge took four CDs, Grante three, but Hamelin only two to traverse these finger breakers. Godowsky (1870-1938) was, perhaps, the greatest pianist that has ever lived. He was playing the piano at three years of age, and that without lessons! His understanding of the modern piano and its capablities was unique and profound. All of the great pianists of his day (and he lived in an age of masters - players like Rachmaninov, Hoffmann, Grainger, and Busoni were his peers) held him in awe. Godowsky's "Fifty-three Studies based upon twenty-six Etudes of Chopin" are infamous for their murderous difficulty. Twenty two of the studies are for the left hand alone. Several of them contrapuntally combine two of Chopin's etudes at the same time. The results have been vilified by many as a blasphemy against Chopin; however, Godowsky loved Chopin's music and considered these pieces an act of reverence. They are unique in the piano literature and every lover of the instrument should be familiar with them. It takes a musician of Mr. Hamelin's Olympian gifts to do them justice though. It was said in Godowsky's day that he was writing for a future generation of pianists. Mr Hamelin shows that generation has arrived with a vengeance. These fascinating CDs are well worth your time and money, don't hesitate to purchase them.

A celebration of the art of piano playing
The famous critic Harold Schonberg once described Godowsky's Studies on Chopin's Etudes as "probably the most impossibly difficult things ever written for the piano". Others, however, view it as a corruption of Chopin's originals, which are amongst the most important and reverred compositions for the piano.

Godowsky himself was a giant of the keyboard and a great interpreter of Chopin (although his recording legacy doesn't appear to do him justice as he never felt comfortable in the confines of the ancient recording studio). He certainly has managed to push pianistic technique to its very limits in these 53 Studies. However, besides being pianistically effective, the writer finds the great majority of the pieces to be very musical and, in quite a few instances (e.g. No. 13 in E flat minor, No. 25 in A flat major, No. 36 in G sharp minor, No. 45 in E major), the effect is exquisite.

In fact, Godowsky was rather faithful to Chopin's originals in most cases. However, his re-workings often involve a thicking of the textures, the addition of intricate and often amusing counter-points, inversion of figurations, and a re-distribution of the melodic strands between the hands. In particular, those Studies written for the left hand alone (numbering 22 in all) can be regarded as landmarks for keyboard composition for a single hand, and listeners will be amazed by the sonorities and possibilities that can be achieved by one hand alone. One has to hear to believe!

These daunting works can hardly find a better advocate than in Marc-Andre Hamelin. Aided by a warm and natural recorded sound, he is not only able to toss off the most deliriously difficult passages with apparent ease (a remarkable achievement by itself), his performances are also unfailingly musical, sensitive and have keen regard as to mood and tone colour. Such a combination of hair-raising virtuosity and good musical taste is definitely a thing to marvel at. Besides, these performances also show that Hamelin has a thorough understanding of Chopin's original Etudes and, in the CD booklet, the pianist has offered brief notes on each of the Studies.

All in all, an immensely enjoyable and revelatory set and an amazing achievement. Whether or not Godowsky's re-workings are sacrilegious and notwithstanding the fact that some will feel that the pudding may have been a bit over-egged, this awesome set can still be regarded as a triumphant celebration of the art of piano playing. As such, it should not be missed by pianophiles.

Technically formidable
Here's a question: What do you do once you have polished the most difficuly pianistic studies? Only Marc-Andre Hamelin knows the answer to that question!

Godowsky's arrangements are really fantastic. He really makes them sound totally different, afresh and alive. This task has been pulled off easily by Mr Hamelin, as if he has been playing them since 13. I am a Chopin fan and I really enjoyed listening to how different they can be!

If you are a bit weary of buying this disc because maybe you think Chopin can't get better, well you are wrong. This really provides an interesting approach to the studies and it is a phenomenal achievement. The true Chopin is still in the studies, but certain things are given a more prominent role here and there.

Hamelin's performance really suits the music, he plays with such elegance and remarkable interpretations, brilliant fingerwork with excellent pedalling - I define a masterful pianist as one who uses the pedal only to enhance an effect - and this is exactly what Mr Hamelin does! He does not put a foot or finger wrong!

The 70 page booklet is full of interesting things about these works and I really enjoyed Hamelins own commentaries on the etudes which highlight certain features about each particular piece.

The music is really enjoyable, but I agree with Mr Hamelin- you cannot listen to all of the studies in one go - it is too much to digest. ...

Summary: Gorgeous sonics, excellent performer, masterful works, and above all a magnificent price all add up to a perfect item for your shopping list!

Bon apetit!
Gareth Ross