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Pianist, composer and teacher, born in Żośle near Wilno (now Vilnius in Lithuania), died in New York. He began his regular music education at the Königliche Hochschule für Musik in Berlin under Woldemar Bargiel (composition) and Ernst Rudorff (piano). He also studied with Camille Saint-Saëns. He was already quite proficient as a pianist and a composer at the age of 9. When he was 21, he married singer Frieda Saxe and became a citizen of the United States of America, where he permanently settled just before the outbreak of the First World War.
Godowski began his concert career at the tender age of 9 with performances in Wilno and tours of Poland, Russia and Germany. Later on he performed in the United States, Canada, London, Germany, Poland, as well as in South America and Asia. Apart from his solo appearances, he was also a recitalist playing alongside singers Clara Louise Kellogg and Emma Cecilia Thursby and violinist Ovide Musin.
He was an outstanding virtuoso musician, but he struggled with stage fright when he had to appear in front of large audiences or make album recordings; it was only when he played at home that his true colours were fully revealed. After one of his Berlin concerts, however, he was hailed a piano revelation and the most worthy successor of Franz Liszt.
Godowski himself did not hold technical mastery in particularly high esteem, though; what mattered most for him was the precision with which one could convey the musical text and faithful interpretation of the style of the period. His career of a pianist was cut short when he suffered a mild paralysis. The remaining 8 years of his life were primarily devoted to teaching.
As a teacher, Godowski worked at the New York College of Music, the Akademie der Tonkunst in Vienna and the academy in Berlin. He also gave teaching courses at the Broad Street Conservatorium in Philadelphia. Most interestingly, he received an honourable doctorate from the Curtis Institute of Music, also from Philadelphia.
Leopold Godowski’s creative output is exclusively dedicated to works for piano. He wrote both original sonatas, variations and suites, and piano arrangements of works by such composers as Johann Strauss the Son, Franz Schubert, Carl Maria von Weber, Fryderyk Chopin, Johann Sebastian Bach and Robert Schumann. Most of his compositions are intended for solo performances but there are also pieces for 4 hands or for 2 pianos. Additionally, he published teaching manuals. Curiously, both his original compositions and his arrangements of works by other composers are better evidence of his masterful piano technique than the recordings on which one can actually hear him play.
Source: Weber Jan, Godowski Leopold, in: Encyklopedia muzyczna PWM, Dziębowska Elżbieta (ed.), vol. 3, Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, Kraków 1987, pp. 350-351, selected and edited by Antoni Szymański.
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24 Walzermasken No. 1 Karneval, No. 2 Pastell, No. 3 Skizze, No. 4 Momento capriccioso, No. 5 Berceuse, No. 6 Kontraste, No. 7 Profil, No. 8 Silhouette, No. 9 Satire, No. 10 Karikatur, No. 11 Tyll Ulenspegel, No. 12 Legende, No. 13 Humoreske, No. 14 Französisch, No. 15 Elegie, No. 16 Perpetuum mobile, No. 17 Menuett, No. 18 Schuhplattler, No. 19 Valse macabre, No. 20 Abendglocken (Angelus), No. 21 Orientale, No. 22 Wienerisch, No. 23 Eine Sage, No. 24 Portrait Download 3 Pieces, Op. 12 No. 1 Mélodie méditative, No. 2 Frühlingsnacht, No. 3 Capriccio Download 3 Pieces, Op. 15 No. 1 Mélodie méditative, No. 2 Frühlingsnacht, No. 3 Capriccio Download 4 Pieces, Op. 14, Nos. 1,3,4, 1899 No. 1 Ein Dämmerungsbild, No.2 Mazurka mélancolique, No. 3 Valse-Idylle, No. 4 Scherzino Download 4 Pieces, Op. 16, Nos. 2 and 4, 1899 No. 1 Sérénade [unpublished], No. 2 Arabesque, No. 3 Rêverie russe [unpublished], No.4 Barcarolle-Valse Download 4 Poems, 1927-31 No. 1 Devotion, No.2 Avowal, No.3 Adoration, No.4 Yearning Download 6 Waltz-poems, 1928 - 1929 for piano left hand Download Adagietto from suite "L' Arlésienne" transcription of 3. movement from suite "L' Arlésienne" by Georges Bizet Download Am Tage Aller Seelen, litany arrangement of song by Franz Schubert Download But who may abide educational adaptation of the aria from oratorio "Messiah" by George Frideric Handel Download Canzonetta transcription of 3. movement from "Concerto romantique" by Benjamin Godard Download Capriccio patetico, 1928 Download Carmen – excerpts adaptation and edition of chosen movements from "Carmen" by Georges Bizet Download Connais-tu le pays educational adaptation of the Mignon's aria from opera "Mignon" by Ambroise Thomas Download Die junge Nonne arrangement of the song Op. 43 No. 1 by Franz Schubert Download Elegy, 1929 Download Etude "Si oiseau j'étais" transcription of the etude No. 6 from "12 Études caractéristiques de concert" Op. 2 by Adolf von Henselt Download Etude macabre, 1929 for piano left hand Download Faust – excerpts adaptation and edition of chosen movements from "Faust" by Charles Gounod Download French suite No. 1 Download Frühlingsnacht nocturne Download Grand valse romantique, 1888 Download Heidenröslein educational adaptation of the song by Franz Schubert Download Suite No. 2 D minor transcription of cello suite by Johann Sebastian Bach Download Suite No. 3 C major transcription of cello suite by Johann Sebastian Bach Download Impromptu, 1929 for piano left hand Download Intermezzo malincolico, 1928 Download Lied der Braut transcription of the song No. 12 from cycle "Myrthen" Op. 25 by Robert Schumann Download Du Bist wie eine Blume transcription of the song No. 24 from cycle "Myrthen" Op. 25 by Robert Schumann Download Meditation, 1929 Download Minuet No. 1 in E major, 1891 Connais-tu le pays educational adaptation of the Mignon's aria from opera "Mignon" by Ambroise Thomas Download Motet "Adoramus Te", 1915 educational adaptation of motet "Adoramus Te" by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Download Moto perpetuo Download Märchen [Fairytale], 1888 Download On the Alma after a Tyrolese folksong Download On the Bridge of Avignon after a French folksong Download Passacaglia, 1927 Variations, cadenza and fugue on the theme of first eight bars from Symphony in B minor "Unfinished" by Franz Schubert Download Polonaise C major Download Preludium and fugue, 1929 for piano left hand Download Renaissance, 16 free transcriptions of old master pieces Vol. I-IV: Jean-Philippe Rameau, Johann Schobert, Arcangelo Corelli, Jean-Baptiste Loeillet, Jean-François Dandrieu, Domenico Scarlatti Download Ruthenian melodies after Russian folksongs Download Sonata in E minor Download Still wie die Nacht transcription of the song Op. 326 No. 27 Carl Bohm Download Irish suite No. 1 after Irish folksongs Download Java Suite, Phonoramas – tonal journeys Download Suite for the left hand Download Netherland Suite after Dutch folksongs Download German Suite No. 1 after German folksongs Download Russian Suite No. 1 after Russian folksongs Download Russian Suite No. 2 after Russian folksongs Download Swedish Suite No. 1 after Swedish folksongs Download Hungarian Suite No. 1 after Hungarian folksongs Download Tango arrangement of 2nd movement of "Espana" suite, Op. 165 by Isaac Albéniz Download The Progressive Series of Piano-Lessons a set of pedagogical music pieces Download Toccata, Op. 13 Download Triakontameron. 30 Moods and Scenes in Triple Measure Download Triana transcription of "Triana" from "Iberia. 12 Impresiones Españolas" by Isaac Albéniz Download Twilight thoughts, 1880 No. 1 Impressions sur le fleuve de Hudson, No.2 Une Nuit de Printemps, No.3 Au jardin des fleurs, No.4 Sérénade Download Suite No. 5 in C minor transcription of Johann Sebastian Bach suite for cello solo Download Chopin's Valse Op. 18 concert paraphrase of Fryderyk Chopin Grande valse brillante E flat major Op.18 Download Valse-scherzo Download Wiegenlied adaptation of song Op. 49 No. 4 by Johannes Brahms Download