Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a Lithuanian-born American
virtuoso
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'' or , "virtuous", Late Latin ''virtuosus'', Latin ''virtus'', "virtue", "excellence" or "skill") is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as ...
pianist, composer and teacher. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time, known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion within pianistic technique – principles later propagated by his pupils, such as
Heinrich Neuhaus
Heinrich Gustav Neuhaus ( pl, Henryk (Harry) Neuhaus, russian: Ге́нрих Густа́вович Нейга́уз, Genrikh Gustavovič Nejgauz, 10 October 1964) was a Russian-born pianist and teacher of German and Polish extraction. Part of ...
.
He was heralded among musical giants as the "Buddha of the Piano".
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...
claimed that he and Godowsky were "the only composers to have added anything of significance to keyboard writing since
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
."
As a composer, Godowsky is best known for his ''
Java Suite'', ''
Triakontameron'',
''Passacaglia'' and ''Walzermasken'', alongside his transcriptions of works by other composers: best known work in the field is
''53 Studies on Chopin's Études'' (1894–1914).
Life
![LeopoldGodowsky55](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/LeopoldGodowsky55.jpg)
Leopold Godowsky was born in
Žasliai (then
Vilna Governorate
The Vilna Governorate (1795–1915; also known as Lithuania-Vilnius Governorate from 1801 until 1840; russian: Виленская губерния, ''Vilenskaya guberniya'', lt, Vilniaus gubernija, pl, gubernia wileńska) or Government of V ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, now
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
) to parents of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
ancestry, Mordkhel Godowsky (1848—1872), from
Merkinė
Merkinė is a town in the Dzūkija National Park in Lithuania, located at the confluence of the Merkys, Stangė, and Neman (river), Nemunas rivers. Merkinė is one of the oldest settlements in Lithuania. The first settlers inhabited the confluence ...
, and Khana-Sheyna Godowsky (' Levin, 1848—1918), from
Gelvonai. His parents were married on 4 December 1868 in
Širvintos
Širvintos () is a city in Vilnius County in the eastern part of Lithuania. It is the administrative center of the Širvintos district municipality.
The word ''Širvintos'' is the plural form of the name of the Širvinta River, which flows throug ...
. Godowsky's father, a respected
feldsher
According to the World Health Organization, a feldsher (german: Feldscher, pl, Felczer, cs, Felčar, russian: фельдшер, sv, Fältskär, Finnish: ''Välskäri'') is a health care professional who provides various medical services limit ...
, died in a cholera epidemic only eighteen months after his son's birth, and Leopold was raised by his mother and foster-parents, Louis and Minna Passinock, in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
.
[Nicholas, Jeremy]
Leopold Godowsky (1870–1938)
/ref>
His talent manifested itself very early, and by age five Godowsky was already composing and becoming proficient on both piano and violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
. He gave his first concert at age nine, and toured throughout Lithuania and East Prussia soon afterwards. Although he received a few lessons in his childhood, Godowsky was almost completely self-taught. Godowsky wrote in his autobiographical fragment, ''Retrospect'':
After briefly studying under Ernst Rudorff
Ernst Friedrich Karl Rudorff (January 18, 1840 – December 31, 1916) was a German composer and music teacher, also a founder of nature protection movement.
Biography
Born in Berlin, Rudorff studied piano under Woldemar Bargiel from 1852 to 1857 ...
at the Königliche Hochschule für Musik
The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...
in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
he left for the United States, where he made his first concert appearance in Boston in 1884. In 1885–86 Godowsky continued his American career, first playing at the New York Casino, and then, in 1886, embarking on a large tour of north-eastern USA and Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
with violinist Ovide Musin
Ovide Musin (1854–1929) was a Belgian violinist and composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composer ...
. In 1887 he returned to Europe and gave numerous recitals in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, eventually becoming a protégé
Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...
and friend of Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...
.
In 1890 he returned to the United States and began a pedagogical career by joining the staff of the New York College of Music. On 30 April 1891 Godowsky married Frieda Saxe, a childhood friend, and the day after his marriage became a citizen of the United States. In 1891–93 he held a teaching position at the Gilbert Raynolds Combs's Broad Street Conservatory in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and then settled in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, subdivision_name ...
, where he taught at the Chicago Conservatory. By the late 1890s Godowsky was extremely well known in North America.
Together with Teresa Carreño
María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García (December 22, 1853June 12, 1917) was a Venezuelan pianist, soprano, composer, and conductor. Over the course of her 54-year concert career, she became an internationally renowned virtuoso pia ...
, Godowsky was the first pianist to teach the principle of ''weight release'' as distinct from purely muscular momentum; also during the same decade, the first of Godowsky's studies on Chopin études were composed and published, later to become part of a large series, one of Godowsky's most famous works. In 1897–98 Godowsky further cemented his fame by giving a series of eight concerts surveying the entire 19th century repertoire.
A particularly successful concert at the Beethoven Hall in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, on 6 December 1900, enhanced Godowsky's reputation greatly. He moved to Berlin, again dividing his time between performing and teaching and giving a concert tour every year. In 1909 he took over Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary f ...
's master classes at the Vienna Academy of Music
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, where he continued to teach until 1914. Between 1912 and 1914 Godowsky gave several concerts in the United States and also made his first gramophone record
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
s there.
In 1914 the outbreak of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
drove him away from Europe and he went back to the United States, where he lived in New York (1914–16), Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
(1916–19), and Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
(1919–22), before returning to New York. Much of the 1920s was spent touring around the world; apart from concert appearances in Europe and the United States, Godowsky also gave extensive tours of South America and East Asia.
Also during the 1920s he recorded many rolls for the Duo-Art
Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company (Ampico), introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of th ...
reproducing piano
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
s, the only reproducing piano mechanism which was available in concert grand Steinways. Godowsky also recorded a large number of piano rolls for the American Piano Company
American Piano Company (Ampico) was an American piano manufacturer formed in 1908 through the merger of Wm. Knabe & Co., Chickering & Sons, and Foster-Armstrong. They later purchased the Mason & Hamlin piano company as their flagship piano. The ...
.
However, while Godowsky's career prospered, his personal life slowly started falling apart. His wife Frieda fell seriously ill in 1924 and her health continued deteriorating ever since. In 1928 Godowsky's son Gordon abandoned his studies and married a vaudeville dancer, causing his father to disown him.
After the Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
Godowsky's financial situation worsened. A string of recordings the pianist began in London in 1928, as well as public concerts, would have remedied the problem; however, both activities were cut short by an unexpected disaster: during a recording session on 17 June 1930, just after completing Chopin's E major Scherzo, the pianist suffered a severe stroke which left him partially paralysed. Godowsky's remaining years were overshadowed by the event, leaving him deeply depressed.
In December 1932 Gordon Godowsky committed suicide, and a year later Godowsky's wife died of a heart attack. The pianist eventually moved to another apartment in New York together with his daughter Dagmar; he continued playing piano for friends and admirers, but never gave public performances.
In his last years, Godowsky put much effort into organizing a ''World Synod of Music and Musicians'' and an ''International Council of Music and Musicians'', but neither project materialized. After spending much of 1937 and 1938 suffering from various health problems, Godowsky died of stomach cancer on 21 November 1938, at the age of 68.
He is buried in the Temple Israel Cemetery in Westchester county, New York.
His son Leopold Godowsky Jr.
Leopold Godowsky Jr. (May 27, 1900 – February 18, 1983) was an American violinist and chemist, who together with Leopold Mannes created the first practical color transparency film, Kodachrome.
Beginning
Mannes and Godowsky's experimentatio ...
was the co-inventor (with Leopold Mannes
Leopold Damrosch Mannes (December 26, 1899 – August 11, 1964) was an American musician, who, together with Leopold Godowsky Jr., created the first practical color transparency film, Kodachrome.
Life and career
Mannes was born in New York City. ...
) of Kodachrome
Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years Kodachrome was widely used ...
photo transparency film, as well as a violinist. Leopold Jr. married George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
's younger sister, Frances
Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the ...
, thus continuing the musical line.
His daughter, the actress Dagmar Godowsky
Mercedes Dagmar Godowsky (November 24, 1897 – February 13, 1975) was an American silent film actress.
Biography
Mercedes Dagmar Godowsky was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 24, 1897, the daughter of Polish-Jewish composer Leopold Godow ...
(1897–1975), appeared as a co-lead in various Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
silent movies
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
, including some with Rudolph Valentino
Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...
. She was a popular socialite and wrote an autobiography titled ''First Person Plural'' (New York, 1958).
Compositions
As a composer, Godowsky has been best known for his paraphrases of piano pieces by other composers, which he enhanced with ingenious contrapuntal devices and rich chromatic harmonies. His most famous work in this genre is the '' 53 Studies on Chopin's Études'' (1894–1914), in which he varies the (already challenging) original étude
An étude (; ) or study is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidl ...
s using various methods: introducing countermelodies
In music, (German for ''primary voice'') or is the main voice, chief part; i.e., the contrapuntal or melodic line of primary importance, in opposition to . (German for ''secondary voice'') or is the secondary part; i.e., a secondary contrap ...
, transferring the technically difficult passages from the right hand to the left, transcribing an entire piece for left hand solo, or even interweaving two études, with the left hand playing one and the right hand the other.
The pieces are among the most difficult piano works ever written, and only a few pianists have ventured to perform any of them. Among such pianists are Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...
, who recorded the entire set and garnered a number of prestigious awards, and Francesco Libetta
Francesco Libetta (born 16 October 1968) is an Italian pianist, composer and conductor.
Biography
Born in Galatone, Southern Italy, Francesco Libetta studied music in Italy (piano with Vittoria De Donno; contrapoint with Cosimo Colazzo and ...
, who performed the complete set in concert (the only pianist to do so from memory) and made a video recording of the set (live in Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, March 2006). Other pianists who frequently perform Godowsky are Boris Berezovsky and Konstantin Scherbakov.
Other important transcriptions by Godowsky include ''Renaissance'' (1906–09), a collection which includes arrangements of music by Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera an ...
and Lully
Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...
, ''12 Schubert Songs'' (1927), and six transcriptions of Bach's music for solo cello and solo violin, arranged for piano, but with complementary voices, etc.
Although his transcriptions are much more well known, Godowsky also composed a number of substantial original works. He considered the ''Passacaglia
The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre.
Origin
The ter ...
'' (1927) and a collection of pieces for left hand alone (1930–31) to be his most mature creations; both, however, employ traditional approach to harmony and counterpoint. A more experimental work was the '' Java Suite (Phonoramas)'' (1925), composed after a visit to Java, under the influence of gamelan
Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...
music. Godowsky was equally comfortable writing large-scale works like the ''Passacaglia'' or the five-movement ''Piano Sonata in E minor'' (1911) as he was creating collections of smaller pieces, such as the ''46 Miniatures'' for piano four hands and the '' Triakontameron'' (1920; subtitled "30 moods and scenes in triple measure").
Quite a number of Godowsky's original works are considerably difficult to perform; the ''Passacaglia'' (which consists of 44 variations, cadenza and fugue on the opening theme of Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's "Unfinished" Symphony) was declared to be unplayable even by Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all ...
, who claimed it would require six hands to perform. Nevertheless, the work has had a number of recordings.
Despite their traditionalism, Godowsky's compositions may have influenced Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
and Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
.
Reception and influence
Godowsky was one of the most highly regarded pianists of his time, praised by listeners, colleagues, and critics alike. Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist. remarked that it would take him "five hundred years to get a mechanism like odowsky's, while Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...
considered himself and Godowsky to be the only composers to have made substantial contributions to keyboard writing and performance since Liszt.
Godowsky's phenomenally difficult transcriptions and impeccable technique prompted some critics to describe him as "a pianist for pianists", as James Huneker
James Gibbons Huneker (January 31, 1857 – February 9, 1921) was an American art, book, music, and theater critic. A colorful individual and an ambitious writer, he was "an American with a great mission," in the words of his friend, the critic Be ...
has done. Among Godowsky's admirers were such distinguished pianists as Vladimir de Pachmann
Vladimir de Pachmann or Pachman (27 July 18486 January 1933) was a pianist of Russian-German ethnicity, especially noted for performing the works of Chopin and for his eccentric performing style.
Biography
Pachmann was born in Odessa, Ukraine as ...
and Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
, who, according to Godowsky's daughter Dagmar, idolized her father's music and performances.
Even those who disliked Godowsky's interpretations usually acknowledged his tremendous technical gifts: Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Bra ...
, for example, declared Godowsky "one of the greatest technicians", even though he considered his playing "boring" and complained that Godowsky "never played above mezzo-forte."
Godowsky's vast repertoire spanned more than two centuries of music, from contemporary music to that of Rameau and Lully, whose music he transcribed. Although he regularly played public concerts until 1930, Godowsky was plagued by stage fright
Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...
, and particularly disliked the recording studio, like many performers of his time. On one occasion, he described the recording process thus:
The fear of doing a trifling wrong augmented while playing; the better one succeeded in playing the foregoing, the greater the fear became while playing. It was a dreadful ordeal, increasingly so the more sensitive the artist, I broke down in my health in London in the Spring of 1930, owing to these nerve-killing tortures. How can one think of emotion![Mitchell, Mark Lindsey. 2000. ''Virtuosi: A Defense and A (Sometimes Erotic) Celebration of Great Pianists'', p. 128. Indiana University Press, ]
Consequently, it was acknowledged that Godowsky's best work was not in public or in the recording studio, but at home. After leaving Godowsky's home one night, Josef Hofmann
Josef Casimir Hofmann (originally Józef Kazimierz Hofmann; January 20, 1876February 16, 1957) was a Polish-American pianist, composer, music teacher, and inventor.
Biography
Josef Hofmann was born in Podgórze (a district of Kraków), in Aus ...
told Abram Chasins
Abram Chasins (August 17, 1903 – June 21, 1987) was an American composer, pianist, piano teacher, lecturer, musicologist, music broadcaster, radio executive and author.
Born in Manhattan, New York, he attended the Ethical Culture schoo ...
: "Never forget what you heard tonight; never lose the memory of that sound. There is nothing like it in the world. It is tragic that the world has never heard Popsy as only he can play."
Godowsky's pupils included Paul Wells
Paul Wells is a Canadian journalist and pundit. He was briefly a national affairs columnist for the ''Toronto Star'' in 2016–2017. Before that, he was a columnist for ''Maclean's'' for thirteen years; his column originally appeared in the bac ...
, Apolinary Szeluto
Apolinary Szeluto (23 July 1884 – 22 August 1966) was a Polish pianist and composer of the Mloda Polska style.
Life and career
Apolinary Szeluto was born in St. Petersburg, and began the study of piano at age nine. He studied music at the ...
, Jan Smeterlin
Jan Smeterlin (7 February 1892 in Bielsko, Austro-Hungarian Empire – 18 January 1967 in London) was a Polish concert pianist. He is especially known as an interpreter of Frédéric Chopin and Karol Szymanowski.
Life
Jan Smeterlin was born a ...
, Issay Dobrowen
Issay Alexandrovich Dobrowen (russian: Исай Александрович Добровейн; in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Empire9 December 1953, Oslo, Norway), born Itschok Zorachovitch Barabeitchik, was a Russian/Soviet-Norwegian pianist, com ...
, Tina Lerner, Fannie Charles Dillon
Fannie Charles Dillon (March 16, 1881February 21, 1947) was an American pianist, music educator and composer.
Life
Fannie Charles Dillon was born in Denver, Colorado in 1881. She moved with her family to Long Beach, California in 1890. She stu ...
, Alice Frisca, Leonard Liebling
Leonard Liebling (February 7, 1874 – October 28, 1945) was an American music critic, writer, librettist, editor, piano, pianist, and composer. He is best remembered as the long time editor-in-chief of the ''Musical Courier'' from 1911 to 1945.
...
, Abbey Simon
Abbey Henry Simon (January 8, 1920 – December 18, 2019) was an American concert pianist, teacher, and recording artist. He was a protégé of Josef Hofmann at the Curtis Institute of Music and a winner of the Naumburg International Piano Com ...
, Hanna Vollenhoven
Hanna van Vollenhoven Vories (1889 – 1972) was a Dutch composer and pianist who later moved to America. She is best remembered today for composing and performing music for player piano rolls. Her music was published under the name "Hanna Vollenh ...
, Myrtle Elvyn
Myrtle Elvyn (born circa 1887 — died February 1975), later Myrtle Elvyn-Bloch, was an American pianist and composer.
Early life
Myrtle Elvyn was born in Sherman, Texas and raised in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Edward Elvyn and Fannie M. G ...
, and most importantly, Heinrich Neuhaus
Heinrich Gustav Neuhaus ( pl, Henryk (Harry) Neuhaus, russian: Ге́нрих Густа́вович Нейга́уз, Genrikh Gustavovič Nejgauz, 10 October 1964) was a Russian-born pianist and teacher of German and Polish extraction. Part of ...
, who taught Sviatoslav Richter
Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...
, Emil Gilels
Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.
Early life and educatio ...
, and Radu Lupu
Radu Lupu (30 November 1945 – 17 April 2022) was a Romanian pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time.
Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teach ...
, among others.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
List of major Godowsky compositions and arrangements
*
Official Godowsky page
Official Godowsky Institute page created by The International Master Institute of Music "Leopold Godowsky"
Leopold Godowsky Collection - Manuscripts
at the Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman.
It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...
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Leopold Godowsky Collection
at the International Piano Archives at Maryland. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
The New International Godowsky Society
- Site dedicated to the works and writings of Leopold Godowsky and Paul Howard. Contains Paul Howard's news letters and early dispatches from The International Godowsky Society.
Leopold Godowsky recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings
The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
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Recordings
*Kunst der Fuge
Leopold Godowsky - MIDI files
*The Buddha of the Piano: Leopold Godowsky: Director: Antonio Iturrio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godowsky, Leopold
1870 births
1938 deaths
American male classical composers
American Romantic composers
19th-century American composers
19th-century classical composers
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