Posted by J. Brent Taylor on September 18, 19100 at 00:54:10:
In reply to: Re: Dante Records: Godowsky Playing?
posted by Donald Manildi, International Piano Archives at Maryland on August 06, 1999 at 09:43:43:
In 1989 Madge became the first pianist to record
all 53 Studies. His performances fill four CD's
as compared with two for Hamelin and Grante.
However, I must disagree with Mr. Manildi's
appraisal of the recordings. Recorded on a 1928
Steinway they present a more intimate look at the
music, Godowsky's detailed pedal markings and
fingerings. I am an admirer of Mr. Hamelin and look forward to acquiring his set. The matter at
hand seems to be a difference in approach to the
music. One need only compare the differences between Grante and Sherbakov's performances of the
Bach Violin Sonata Transcriptions to understand this; Grante opts of an intimate approach while
Sherbakov storms the concert hall. The Madge re-
cordings, while far from ideal, do not reduce the
Chopin studies into mere technical stunts.