This highly acclaimed 1992 Godowsky recital for Hyperion makes a welcome reappearance on the midprice Helios label and warrants serious consideration. Rian De Waal’s swift, tautly argued interpretation of Godowsky’s all-but-impossible 1927 Passacaglia on the opening measures of Schubert’s Unfinished stands as a more fiery and often more powerful counterpart to Konstantin Scherbakov’s headlong sobriety, notably in the work’s thickest climaxes and final fugue. He yields no technical quarter to Marc-André Hamelin, although the latter brings a more varied tonal palette to the score, as well as taking the composer’s numerous espressivo indications to heart.
De Waal’s extraordinary assurance, pianistic poise, and hard-nosed directness lop quite a few harmonic and textural calories off of the garish Schubert transcriptions. Some listeners might prefer Cherkassky’s cream-coated delivery of the F minor Moment Musical or Bolet’s cushier way with the Rosamunde ballet music. Still, De Waal’s added vigor and sharper accents impose a Rachmaninovian edge that befits this repertoire. The pianist also renders Godowsky’s thickly souped-up rewrite of Weber’s Invitation to the Dance deceptively lithe and swinging.
De Waal’s blazing command of Künsterleben’s overly transcribed terrain is enough to keep mortal pianists honest, although Earl Wild’s early-’60s recording allows more room for characterization, not to mention David Saperton’s sophisticated voicings and thoroughly internalized embrace of the idiom. The transcription goes on a bit too long for what it has to say, notwithstanding De Waal’s discreet and sensible cuts. In all, this release remains a high point in the annals of recorded Godowsky, and it’s graced with marvelous annotations by the composer’s biographer Jeremy Nicholas.
