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Presto News - 28th July 2008Leopold Godowsky and the virtuoso pianist |
 The Polish-born pianist and composer Leopold Godowsky is not a household name to many. Very few recordings of his playing exist, while his compositions are generally not considered ‘serious’ enough for any regular appearances.  Leopold Godowsky Certainly the programme presented in a new release out today by Marc-André Hamelin subscribes to this non-serious view. For it is made of works based on themes by - or directly inspired by - Johann Strauss II. Godowsky arrived in Vienna in 1908 (nine years after the death of Johann Struass II). It must have been a time when Vienna was at a crossroads, coming to the end of the waltz-dominated dancing scene that the Strauss family had so popularised over the past hundred years, but also the breeding ground for one of the most revolutionary developments in Western Music at the time – namely the Second Viennese School led by Arnold Schoenberg. As a composer Godowsky is probably known more for his transcriptions than for his original compositions. He had a strange love-affair with the waltz and on this disc as well as the three great remarkable Strauss transcriptions, are some of his own Triakontameron and Walzermasken, all written entirely in 3/4 time. They are pieces of extreme technical difficulty, which places them out of the reach of ordinary pianists. Luckily Marc-André Hamelin is, of course, no ordinary pianist, and there is also a nice family connection to the final piece on the disc – Godowsky’s arrangement of The Last Waltz by Oscar Straus. In the early 1970s, Gilles Hamelin - the pianophile father of Marc-André - notated, arranged and edited The Last Waltz from Godowsky’s piano roll, which was then published in 1975. Shortly afterwards, a copy of the negative of Godowsky’s manuscript was sent to Gilles Hamelin. It was all but illegible, so Hamelin Snr. made a fair copy in his own hand: in almost every respect it tallied with the version he had transcribed from the piano roll. In all, a very attractive and strangely addictive disc, played by a truly phenomenal pianist. Much to enjoy, and there are a few short samples to whet your appetite below.
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 Godowsky - Strauss transcriptions and other waltzesMarc-André Hamelin (piano)
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Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
listen: Walzermasken No 24: Portrait - Joh. Str.New Releases28th July 2008 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Mahler: Symphony No. 7 in E minorLondon Symphony Orchestra, Valery GergievFollowing explosive accounts of the First and Sixth symphonies, the third release in Valery Gergiev's astonishing Mahler cycle features Symphony No 7. The revelatory performances of the Seventh have been one of the highlights of the cycle in concert to date. |
 Franck & Fauré - String QuartetsDante QuartetThe great French composers Fauré and Franck have generally been cast as total opposites, but in fact they had much in common. Neither were really men of the theatre, nor were they natural symphonists, nor were they flashy orchestrators in the Berlioz or Rimsky-Korsakov tradition. Recorded together here, these beautiful final works demonstrate a thorough maturity of spirit and talent in both composers. |
 Vaughan Williams - A Cappella Choral WorksLaudibus, Mike BrewerMike Brewer and his award-winning chamber choir Laudibus (the National Youth Chamber Choir) have unearthed some rare and precious gems in this recording of a cappella choral music by one of England's best-loved composers. Little-known works, both early and late, nestle alongside repertoire staples such as the glorious Mass in G minor, in a programme which highlights Vaughan Williams' indebtedness to both the sacred and secular instincts of his Elizabethan predecessors. |
 Handel in Italy - Solo CantatasEmma Kirkby (soprano), London BaroqueDuring his years in Italy (1706-1710), it is believed that Handel may have written as many as 150 cantatas including a number of so-called cantate con stromenti for one or more solo voices plus additional instruments. The four cantatas on this disc feature the standard combination for such works: soprano, two violins and basso continuo. This exciting programme is presented by Emma Kirkby and London Baroque, household names in the sphere of ‘early music’ and beyond, and certainly no newcomers to the works of Handel. |
 Romantic Residues - Songs for tenor and harpJames Gilchrist (tenor), Alison Nicholls (harp) & Jaime Martin (flute)What do we remember of our past romantic encounters? This is the theme of ‘Romantic Residues’, the opening section of Vikram Seth’s collection of verse All You Who Sleep Tonight, first published in 1990. There are nine poems in all, varying widely in content and mood - from the light and whimsical to the melancholy and dark. The songs were commissioned by the Bury St Edmunds Festival and composed for James Gilchrist and Alison Nicholls who gave the first performance. This charming, impeccably-performed collection of morceaux and mélodies also includes works by Britten, Saint-Saëns, Ravel and Fauré. |
 Erwin Schrott - Opera AriasErwin Schrott (bass-baritone)Uruguayan bass-baritone, Erwin Schrott, joins Decca with a deliciously charismatic, seductive and witty debut album. This album showcases his portrayals of some of opera's most famous roles, and which have wowed both audiences and critics across the world's greatest opera houses. |
 Couperin - Pieces for ViolPierre Hantaï (harpsichord) & Eduardo Egüez (theorbo, guitar)These pieces were long thought to have been lost without trace and yet, unnoticed by anyone, a copy had been gathering dust on the shelves of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, with only the initials F.C. to identify. Charles Bouvet has told the story of what induced him to take a closer look at this copy and why he was convinced (on the strength of both internal and external evidence) that this was indeed the famous collection. These are masterpieces, fully worthy to be mentioned in the same breath as the fourth book of pieces for harpsichord, of 1730, and some of the most beautiful moments in all Couperin's works, performed by two of the finest exponents of Baroque style: Philippe Pierlot and Pierre Hantaï. |
 Mahler: Symphony No. 3 in D minor - DVDAnna Larsson (soprano), Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Arnold Schoenberg Choir Vienna & Tölzer Knabenchor, Claudio AbbadoThis new Claudio Abbado recording was a very special event at the Lucerne Festival 2007. The imposing experience of Mahler’s No. 3 is captured live in a performance of awesome silences and towering climaxes with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. The line-up includes such luminaries as Ilya Gringolts and Sabine and Wolfgang Meyer, alongside sundry members of the world’s great orchestras.The cello section alone boasts Natalia Gutman, Clemens Hagen and Valentin Erben. |
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