[VIDEO] Godowsky - Study 12a (Chopin's 10/5 for LH alone)

[liszt1022]

Godowsky Study 12a
Arrangement of Chopin's Etude op. 10 no. 5 for left hand alone

Why this piece? Because I love it! And it doesn't get enough love.

Hamelin says it's one of the most "intractable" LH studies, Grante says it's the least interesting of Godowsky's 10/5 studies, Madge made a hot mess of it, and it's "passed over" for recording by most everyone who records a "selection" of the studies (Berezovsky, Saperton, Hobson, Bolet, etc.)

But, David Stanhope did great work with it (the best so far,) and Raoul Sosa has recorded it (left-hand champion pianist, I haven't heard his yet.) Also, Youtube pianist Wolfgang Weller has an audio-only version from his own live performance.

Anyway, here's my take. It feels like magic playing this. It's the most difficult stuff I've ever given my left hand and I'm proud of what it managed to accomplish.

As intractable as Hamelin says, the part writing is nothing but "correct" for the entire study. Godowsky's writing is very well balanced and Chopin's original left hand part could have been written with much thicker textures than what there are. Once you get past the fact that Godowsky chose this for a left-hand setting in the FIRST place, you notice it's the best anyone could have done.

[orangesodaking]

That was charming! Keep up the good work. If you want to speed it up, do it very gradually.

[fleetfingers]

That was neat! I like how the octaves go up at the end instead of down - it's all backwards!

I'd never heard that arrangement - thanks for sharing your fabulous rendition! The speed was great.

[liszt1022]

That was neat! I like how the octaves go up at the end instead of down - it's all backwards!

I'd never heard that arrangement - thanks for sharing your fabulous rendition! The speed was great.

Thanks for listening!

The ascending octaves at the end are unusual considering how strict the rest of the arrangement is, but it does make sense. The original goes Gb to Gb, which makes it feel like one big I chord. Godowsky's goes Db to Db, which makes it part of one big V chord that ties to the final cadence.

I think the feeling of V is more suited to an ascending line than a descending one. It softens the ending- had Godowsky wanted to end forte, he would have had the Gb line descending.

[furtwaengler]

I enjoyed this very much, especially your wonderful musicality and detail in voicing. It's a brilliant arrangement. I think my favorite of all the left hand versions is actually op. 10 no. 6!

Thanks for sharing.

[hakki]

Thanks for sharing this.
I enjoyed listening to it very much.
You play it wonderfully.

[pianowolfi]

Great playing! At first I miss the high pitches, but that's probably because I know the Chopin Etude and I am used to it, so, I f I didn't know about it I guess I would just take it as it is, a wonderful piece

[liszt1022]

Thank you to everybody who has watched and for the comments!

Now that IMSLP is back up, here's a link to the score. It's at the end of "Book I."
https://imslp.org/wiki/Studies_after_Frederic_Chopin_%28Godowsky,_Leopold%29

[mnmleung]

Thanks for posting this one and well done!  I have looked at the op 10 no 6 left hand version a long time ago (looking is the operative word).

[liszt1022]

Thanks for posting this one and well done!  I have looked at the op 10 no 6 left hand version a long time ago (looking is the operative word).

Good luck on the 10/6! I'm looking at some others, trying to see what works best for my hand. Maybe 25/9? My sister requested 10/9.

[mousekowski]

Well done - beautifully played! It's a truly crazy piece. I like the way he reverses the final pentatonic run, so that it goes upwards intead of downwards!

[rachfan]

Beautifully played.  Great!  Thanks for posting it.