Godowsky: Twelve Impressions/ Nazrin Rashidova, violin; Roderick Chadwick, piano

Recommendation

Aside from a few largely unavailable Heifetz recordings of a couple pieces here, the music for violin and piano by Leopold Godowsky on this Naxos recording is not to be found elsewhere on disc. Godowsky's Twelve Impressions of 1916 is the most substantial work on the program, framed by several brief transcriptions of the composer's solo piano pieces called Poems. It's all beautifully performed by violinist Nazrin Rashidova and pianist Roderick Chadwick.

Leopold Godowsky was born in Žasliai, in what at the time was part of Russia, but is now a region of Lithuania. His musical gifts were apparent at a very early age; he began touring East Prussia performing on both piano and violin at the age of ten. Receiving few formal lessons, he was virtually self-taught. Godowsky made his first concert appearances in North America at the age of fourteen, in Boston. He spent the height of his career composing, teaching and performing throughout Europe and North America, as well as touring South America and East Asia. Suffering financial distress in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, a stroke, the death of his wife and the suicide of his son Gordon, Godowsky endured extremely difficult final years to his life, eventually succumbing to cancer at the age of 68.

As a composer, Godowsky is best known for his paraphrases of music by other composers. Many of these pieces are known notoriously by pianists to be among the most difficult to perform in the repertoire. His cadenza and fugue on Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony was declared unplayable by Vladimir Horowitz, who stated it would take six hands to perform (yet, it is available on CD, recorded by Marc-Andre Hamelin, Ian Hobson and Konstantin Scherbakov - two handed pianists all!).

This music is alluring and colorful, strangely romantic, often melancholy and, well, rather difficult to describe - which makes a good segue to the introduction of the sample track from the CD where you can hear the music for yourself. It's the opening track on the album, Avowal, a charming transcription of Godowsky's piano piece, Poem No. 2. Ms. Rashidova and Mr. Chadwick capture the charisma and charm of the music in performances that are technically secure, musically beguiling and stylistically, seem to be right in the idiom of each of Godowsky's creations. In all, this is a delightful hour of extraordinary and exotic music.

Album Overview

Leopold Godowsky was one of the greatest piano virtuosos of his time, many of whose compositions for the piano have long since taken their place in the repertoire. However, his violin music is almost unknown. Avowal is a charming transcription of his piano work Poem No 2. The Twelve Impressions were dedicated to Fritz Kreisler and his wife, and are largely derived from Godowsky’s original piano pieces but refashioned to allow for Kreisler’s fingerings and bowing.

Source: Naxos

Leopold Godowsky, composer; Photo by Carl Van Vechten	Leopold Godowsky Godowsky (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a Polish American pianist, composer, and teacher. One of the most highly regarded performers of his time, he became known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion in piano playing, principles later propagated by Godowsky’s pupils http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Godowsky
Nazrin Rashidova, violin	Nazrin Rashidova Rashidove (born 1988): Soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral director, Nazrin’s musical acumen is creating a unique place for her in the music world. Violin virtuoso made her solo debut at the age of three in one of the most prestigious palaces in Baku…the Cairo Opera House awarded her a Gold Medal after an exceptional solo recital as a six-year-old. And … was featured on BBC World News…the latest string to an already accomplished bow.  In 2003, Nazrin was exceptionally accepted to The Royal Academy of Music at the age of 15 and successfully graduated in 2009 with a Master of Music Degree, Diploma and Regency Award for Notable Achievement. http://www.nazrin.co.uk/about.html
Roderick Chadwick, piano	Roderick Chadwick Roderick Chadwick (born 1978) is an English classical pianist. Chadwick has performed in Europe, United States and Asia. In addition to solo performances, he is the founder of Plus-Minus Ensemble, and has performed with this group in a number of venues and festivals. He also performs regularly with the CHROMA chamber ensemble. Chadwick teaches at the Royal Academy of Music, in London. Chadwick is especially interested in the music of Messiaen and his students, and has carried out musicological research into Messiaen’s music. In performance, Chadwick focuses on contemporary and 20th century music, and works with a number of contemporary composers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roderick_Chadwick

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