Godowsky: Study No. 44 (On Chopin's M-F No. 1, for the left hand alone)

[iumonito]

This I recorded with great enthusiasm and little practice on Anna (Bechstein No. 5796).  A better version should follow in a few months if I discipline myself and start learning a Godowsky transcriptions recital (90 % of the easier stuff and just two or three of the harder ones, which with my current level of knowledge are outside of my capability).

[Mayla]

Why, where is it ? 

[jakev2.0]

Please spare us your practicing.

[iumonito]

Jakev, thanks for the comment.  Feel free to post your own.  Also, specific suggestions are most welcome.

[jakev2.0]

Well, it'll be fine once you get it up to speed, but why would anyone care to hear it in its current unfinished state? I was excited when I saw that someone had posted this piece, but was deeply disappointed on half-assed performance of it.  It's as if you thought "well, the piece is so damn hard, people will be impressed, and not really care about the actual quality of the interpretation anyway." A bit of a let down.

I wish you good luck in mastering it. 

[iumonito]

Thanks, Jakev.  Do you think this is supposed to go faster?  I do not think the piece is particularly hard technically.  You need to keep the various sound planes connected within themselves, but that's an ear thing.

What do you have in mind?  I am truly curious.

Hopefully not a Magde approach to it, I agree.  I do care a lot about the music, if not really about others may think (you can't please everyone, plus, sometimes you must not please your audience to be true to the music).

By the way, the motivation to post it is that it is recorded on my "new" Bechstein.  Even though this instrument is older than the instruments Godowsky would have known as new instruments, I think it is interesting to see how this music sounds in a instrument that in many ways is more similar to those Godowsky knew early in his career when he composed this than those available today in most conservatories and concert venues.

 

[jlh]

Anyone else notice a certain discrepancy between the filename and the title and music output?   

[schubertiad]

I realise this is only glorified piano practice, but i think you may not quite have grasped the intended rhythm for the piece. If the Godowsky rhythm is the same as the original (which i'm learning at the moment) then your 4 vs 3 is way off. Dividing each half note into 12 (which at the speed you're playing shouldn't be too hard) it should go:

                                 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12
                                 R              R              R
                                 L          L           L           L

Once you have this ingrained, you can let the eight notes get on with it, but until then make sure you have it nailed, otherwise it will be pure guesswork. Anyway, please post again when you have it finished, it would be great to hear.

[iumonito]

 

Schubert, thanks for your kind comment.  Actually contrary to what one may believe, the Godowsky arrangement for the left hand alone has no cross rhythm: eight eight-notes over a 2/2 measure.  Godowsky alligns the melodic aspect of the piece (the triplets in the original) sort of as a syncopated, written-out rubato.

Certainly this would get more secure with practice, but the basic outline of the piece, including tempo, dynamics and expression is there already.  The way I see it more practice would provide a richer sound pallete, and probably a smoother rendition, but no major changes in what the notes are and when they are played.

I shall do so anyway.  Thanks for the comments.  It is very worthwhile to get to know these Godowsky studies, so you should try to get your hands on the score.