Search - Leopold Godowsky, Rian de Waal, Rian DeWaal :: Piano Music by Leopold Godowsky

The Ideal Introduction to Godowsky

Phillip J. Rodgers | West Central GA USA | 03/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938) is, arguably, the greatest pianist that has ever lived. A prodigy of Mozartian or Mendelssohnian gifts (he was playing the piano at 3 - without lessons!) he had a Bachian sense of counterpoint married to a Chopinesque sense of the piano and its capabilities. This caused him to produce music of fearsome complexity. Rian de Waal here gives a nearly flawless Godowsky recital. Indeed his performance of Godowsky's Passacaglia & Fugue on a Theme of Schubert, as well as Godowsky's Symphonic Metamorphosis on Strauss' "Artist's Life" cannot be bettered. If you want the perfect CD to introduce you to Godowsky's strange art deco sound world then this is it. If you are a Godowsky fan and have somehow missed this CD then you are in for a treat."

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offeck | New York, NY -- United States of America | 12/15/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album served as Rian De Waal's debut album for Hyperion. On it, he makes a judicious selection from Godowsky's teeming and exquisitely decadent art. Although Godowsky's wildly super-virtuositc technical demands may exaggerated in score, it is thanks to pianists like Rian De Waal that we can often lose this impression. One shining example is the Godowsky Passacaglia: 44 variations, cadenza, and fugue on the first 8 measures of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony's opening movement. Played by the lunatic Barere, but dismissed by the madman Horowitz as impossible, this piece had to wait some years before a true mainstream appreciation. And what a glory De Waal makes of it! His rich and sonorous tone, and inexorable power and contol even in the most death-defying turns and leaps of terrorizing strength and violence is an awe-inspiring revelation, especially considering a shortage of reference materials previous to the time of conception. Elsewhere in Godowsky's indefatigable elaboration, he is similarly successful, weaving through the most treacherous of mazes with absolute assurace, sounding at once cool and heroic. One fall, on Godowsky's other side, De Wall doesn't show much understanding of a yearning touch. But I give this disc Five Stars, anyway, especially since it has such great sound!"

The Super-Virtuosi: Godowsky & De Waal

Sarp Demir | Izmir, Turkey | 07/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a CD that gathers one of the most important composers of classical music world together with one of the most talented young pianists of today. Godowsky's technically demanding masterpieces such as "Passacaglia" and "Künstlerleben" flow through De Waal's hands with such ease. Especially, his interpretation of "Künstlerleben" is worth taking place among the best. About "Passacaglia", he plays the virtuosic passages so fast and blows one after another with stunning sound quality. However, this speed makes him rush into the Fugue and end the piece without ever giving listener the opportunity to think about what is going on. Timing for this piece is 16:45 and this is a lightning speed compared to both Marc-André Hamelin's 18:47 and Antti Siirala's 19:30. The other pieces in this CD are also played powerfully. Schubert's "Gute Nacht" and "Moment Musical" are gems. High quality recording.



Total timing - 58:23"