It’s a critical cliché to equate pianists attempting Leopold Godowsky’s complete Studies based on Chopin’s Études with mountaineers ascending Mount Everest, yet it’s the truth. Emanuele Delucchi serves up half of the cycle (all of the studies based on Chopin’s Op. 10 originals), and proves every inch a viable contender alongside the Marc-André Hamelin and Carlo Grante reference versions.
He uses a restored 1906-vintage Steinway that lacks the power and heft of recent models, yet the instrument compensates by way of colorful register differentiation, tonal warmth, and what appears to be an unusually light, responsive action. The feathery ease with which Delucchi tosses off the C major No. 1’s arpeggios in both directions is a case in point, and so is the suave contouring of melodic foreground and elaborate decorative background in the E-flat minor No. 13 for left hand alone. Then again, Delucchi often eschews incisive élan for nuanced lyricism.
For example, Hamelin’s relative crisp and forthright way with No. 12 (the “Black Key” étude inverted) contrasts to Delucchi’s slightly slower tempo and richer detailing. Similarly, Delucchi’s sweeping, softer-edged F major No. 16 (Chopin’s original Op. 10 No. 8 assigned to the left hand) differs from Grante’s diamond-like articulation of the rapid runs. And while both Hamelin and Grante pedal the F minor No. 18 discreetly, Delucchi seems to bow rather than strike the left-hand triplets, eliciting more poetry.
While Delucchi’s mastery of the daunting “Revolutionary” Étude for the left hand alone impresses on its own terms, the faster edge of Boris Berezovsky’s terrific live recording still dominates the competition. Still, Delucchi’s total comfort with and absorption of Godowsky’s serpentine idiom makes itself felt in every measure. Needless to say, I look forward to Delucchi’s performances of the remaining studies.
