Descripción del producto
The legendary pianist Leopold Godowsky (1870-1938) left a huge catalogue boasting more than 400 pieces, more than half of which are transcriptions, arrangements or paraphrases for piano. The present recording offers an eclectic glimpse of the art of transcription according to Godowsky, featuring some of his finest realisations. As with Liszt, the original work is a pretext for inspiration, thoroughly, and very freely reworked. His devotion to the great composers of the past was immense, and he carried out his adaptations with considerable respect, taste and style, the final aim always remaining musical above all. A singular pianist, appreciated for his amazing charisma, Laurent Wagschal offers us a poetic reading of the most famous standards, from Chopin Etudes to the American national anthem, by way of Saint-Saëns' Swan, Bach and a few Lieder by Schubert and Schumann.
Opinión
'Godowsky was one of the great piano transcribers and this is a cleverly programmed bran tub which picks some of the best ... there is so much to admire about Wagschal s grasp of and complete empathy with the genre that comparisons become irrelevant. His handling of Godowsky s multi-layered voices is masterly and the variety of tone and touch he brings to the Schumann, Albéniz, Saint-Saëns and six Schubert transcriptions is most sensitively judged. He both charms and swaggers in Wein, Weib und Gesang (uncut, unlike Cherkassky s classic account); here and in The Star-Spangled Banner he is not afraid to unleash the full resources of his well-recorded piano. Altogether, 76 minutes of hyphenated Godowsky pass very quickly indeed in the hands of this gifted pianist.' --Jeremy Nicholas Gramophone, October 2016
Most fascinating here is Bach s G minor sonata for solo violin, in which the first movement is an entirely original meditation ... Laurent Wagschal plays...with clarity and definition. --Nicholas Kenyon The Observer, 23rd October 2016
'it takes a very special pianist to bring this out ... you can hear the way that he [Wagschal] looks at these pieces with a lot more insight than just a pianistic virtuosity, he really penetrates them as a musician first and a pianist second, and I think that s what makes it successful ... I loved it, he really does take us on a journey ... it s a real overview of all Godowsky s transcriptions rather than just concentrating on one aspect of them.' --Lucy Parham BBC Radio 3 Record Review, 19th November 2016
