Credits:

Franck

Description:

This 3-CD set features Leopold Godowsky's Complete Exercises on Chopin's Etudes and a variety of piano works, including his magnum opus Passacaglia. Fascinated by Chopin's etudes, Godowsky created his works in arrangements strictly for the left hand only, inverting the arrangement of notes, combining them with other exercises, and imitating them. Godowsky's arrangements were unique in that they made a strong impression, with the left hand playing a fixed melody and the right hand taking on a counterpoint role. The purpose of this piece is to develop the mechanical, technical, and musical possibilities of piano playing, to extend the instrument's singular adaptability to polyphonic, polyrhythmic, and polydynamic works, and to broaden its range of possibilities in timbre." Gotovsky said. Italian pianist Emanuele Delucchi has the rare gift of being able to overcome the enormous difficulties of these works and still play the music. The performances were previously released separately on the Piano Classics label and are now being reissued by Brilliant Classics as a value-priced 3-CD set.