Godowsky Sonata, 4th movement

Leopold Godowsky - Sonata in E minor (1911)
4th movement: Allegretto grazioso e dolce

Thomas Ang, piano

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Leopold Godowsky was an autodidact genius of the piano, having had little more than three months' lessons in his entire life. Becoming known as the Prince of the Left Hand - a reputation enhanced by his work in that medium - he was one of the most sought-after teachers in Europe just before the Second World War.

He revolutionised attitudes toward fingering and technique, borne out especially in his compositions and transcriptions, which typically are dressed in a rich chromaticism and dense polyphony. Among his most well-known works are the monumental 53 Studies on Chopin, a kaleidoscopic panorama on the Chopin études, and the waltz Alt-Wien ("Old Vienna"), which has been variously transcribed for several instrument-and-piano combinations and included in many easy-listening collections.

The Sonata in E minor, a five-movement work written early in his career, is variously influenced by Mahler and Richard Strauss, not least in the polyphonic writing and the overall form, especially reminiscent of Mahler's symphonies. The fourth movement, a terpsichorean ramble similar to those in the Triakontameron or his other waltz works, is in the same key as the second and doubtless forms an important balance to it in the tonal outlay of the entire sonata. It is also the last of the three "intermezzi" between the two large outer movements, and doubtless carries some of the flavourful elegance and nostalgia pervasive of his oeuvre in general.

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