thumb|Godowsky (1915)

Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (; 13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher, born in what is now Lithuania to Jewish parents, who became an American citizen in 1891. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time, known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion within pianistic technique – principles later propagated by his pupils, such as Heinrich Neuhaus.

He was heralded among musical giants as the "Buddha of the Piano". Ferruccio Busoni claimed that he and Godowsky were "the only composers to have added anything of significance to keyboard writing since Franz Liszt."

As a composer, Godowsky is best known for his Java Suite, Triakontameron, Passacaglia and Walzermasken, alongside his transcriptions of works by other composers; the best-known of these works are the 53 Studies on Chopin's Études (1894–1914).

Life

right|thumb|200px|Godowsky (1935; by [[Carl Van Vechten)]]

Leopold Godowsky was born in Žasliai (then Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire, now Lithuania) to Jewish parents, Mordkhel Godowsky (1848–1872), from Merkinė, and Khana-Sheyna Godowsky (' Levin, 1848–1918), from Gelvonai. His parents were married on 4 December 1868 in Širvintos. Godowsky's father, a respected feldsher, died in a cholera epidemic only eighteen months after his son's birth, and Leopold was raised by his mother and foster-parents, Louis and Minna Passinock, in Vilnius.

His talent manifested itself very early, and by age five Godowsky was already composing and becoming proficient on both piano and violin. He gave his first concert at age nine, and toured throughout Lithuania and East Prussia soon afterwards. Although he received a few lessons in his childhood, Godowsky was almost completely self-taught. Godowsky wrote in his autobiographical fragment, Retrospect:

After briefly studying under Ernst Rudorff at the Königliche Hochschule für Musik in Berlin he left for the United States, where he made his first concert appearance in Boston in 1884.

His son Leopold Godowsky Jr. was the co-inventor (with Leopold Mannes) of Kodachrome photo transparency film, as well as a violinist. Leopold Jr. married George Gershwin's younger sister, Frances, thus continuing the musical line.

His daughter, the actress Dagmar Godowsky (1897–1975), appeared as a co-lead in various Hollywood silent movies, including some with Rudolph Valentino. She was a popular socialite and wrote an autobiography titled First Person Plural (New York, 1958).

Compositions

right|thumb|200px|A page from Godowsky's highly challenging [[Studies on Chopin's Études (an arrangement of Op. 25, No. 1)]]

As a composer, Godowsky has been best known for his paraphrases of piano pieces by other composers, which he enhanced with complex contrapuntal devices and rich chromatic harmonies. His most famous work in this genre is the 53 Studies on Chopin's Études (1894–1914), in which he varies the (already challenging) original études using various methods: introducing countermelodies, transferring the technically difficult passages from the right hand to the left, transcribing an entire piece for left hand solo, or even interweaving two études, with the left hand playing one and the right hand the other.

The pieces are among the most difficult piano works ever written, and relatively few pianists have performed or recorded any of them. Among such are Marc-André Hamelin, who recorded the entire set and garnered a number of prestigious awards, and Francesco Libetta, who performed the complete set in concert (the only pianist to do so from memory) and made a video recording of the set (live in Milan, March 2006). Other pianists who frequently perform Godowsky are Boris Berezovsky, Konstantin Scherbakov and Emanuele Delucchi.

Other important transcriptions by Godowsky include Renaissance (1906–09), a collection which includes arrangements of music by Rameau and Lully, 12 Schubert Songs (1927), and six transcriptions of Bach's solo string music.

Although his transcriptions are much more well known, Godowsky also composed a number of substantial original works. He considered the Passacaglia (1927) and a collection of pieces for left hand alone (1930–31) to be his most mature creations; both, however, employ traditional approach to harmony and counterpoint. A more experimental work was the Java Suite (1925), written after a visit to Java and influenced by gamelan music. Godowsky was equally comfortable writing large-scale works like the Passacaglia or the five-movement Piano Sonata in E minor (1911) as he was creating collections of smaller pieces, such as the 46 Miniatures for piano four hands and the Triakontameron (1920; subtitled "30 moods and scenes in triple measure").

Many of Godowsky's original works are considerably difficult to perform; the Passacaglia (which consists of 44 variations, cadenza and fugue on the opening theme of Franz Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony) was declared to be unplayable by Vladimir Horowitz, who claimed it would require six hands to perform. Nevertheless, the work has had a number of recordings.

Despite their traditionalism, Godowsky's compositions may have influenced Maurice Ravel and Sergei Prokofiev.

Reception and influence

thumb|Portrait of the composer at the piano by Polish painter [[Jan Ciągliński (1911)]]

Godowsky was one of the most highly regarded pianists of his time, praised by listeners, colleagues, and critics alike. Arthur Rubinstein remarked that it would take him "five hundred years to get a mechanism like [Godowsky's]", while Ferruccio Busoni considered himself and Godowsky to be the only composers to have made substantial contributions to keyboard writing and performance since Liszt.

Godowsky's phenomenally difficult transcriptions and impeccable technique prompted James Huneker to describe him as "a pianist for pianists". Among Godowsky's admirers were distinguished pianists Vladimir de Pachmann and Sergei Rachmaninoff, who, according to Godowsky's daughter Dagmar, idolized her father's music and performances.

Even those who disliked Godowsky's interpretations usually acknowledged his tremendous technical gifts: Claudio Arrau, for example, declared Godowsky "one of the greatest technicians", even though he considered his playing "boring" and complained that Godowsky "never played above mezzo-forte."

Godowsky's vast repertoire spanned more than two centuries of music, from contemporary music to that of Rameau and Lully, whose music he transcribed.</blockquote>

Consequently, it was acknowledged that Godowsky's best work was not in public or in the recording studio, but at home. After leaving Godowsky's home one night, Josef Hofmann told Abram Chasins: "Never forget what you heard tonight; never lose the memory of that sound. There is nothing like it in the world. It is tragic that the world has never heard Popsy as only he can play."

Godowsky's pupils included Paul Wells, Apolinary Szeluto, Jan Smeterlin, Issay Dobrowen, Tina Lerner, Fannie Charles Dillon, Alice Frisca, Leonard Liebling, Abbey Simon, Hanna Vollenhoven, Myrtle Elvyn, and Heinrich Neuhaus, who taught Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, and Radu Lupu, among others.

Notes

References

  • List of major Godowsky compositions and arrangements
  • Official Godowsky page
  • Official Godowsky Institute page created by The International Master Institute of Music "Leopold Godowsky"
  • Leopold Godowsky Collection – Manuscripts at the Eastman School of Music
  • Leopold Godowsky Collection at the International Piano Archives at Maryland. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
  • The New International Godowsky Society – Site dedicated to the works and writings of Leopold Godowsky and Paul Howard. Contains Paul Howard's news letters and early dispatches from The International Godowsky Society.
  • Leopold Godowsky recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.

Recordings

  • Kunst der Fuge: Leopold Godowsky – MIDI files
  • The Buddha of the Piano: Leopold Godowsky – director: Antonio Iturrioz