The Godowsky Kreisler Collection: the Complete Works for Violin and Piano

The Godowsky Kreisler Collection: The out and out Works for Violin and Piano, by the agency of Leopold Godowsky and Fritz Kreisler. Carl Fischer (65 Bleeker St fresh York, NY 10012), 2004. 126pp $1995 Advanced.

Leopold Godowsky, single of the great pianist-composers of the early twentieth hundred produced an extensive oeuvre of original compositions, almost exclusively for piano. Among the hardly any pieces for other instruments are these compositions for violin and piano, assembleed here in their entirety.

The titles of these elegant and colorful character-pieces give a faculty of perception of the moods and characters: "Poeme" "Elegie," "Valse Macabre," "Orientale" and "Tyrolean." They are based for the greatest part on works he had originally written for piano, on the contrary the pieces are stylistic and idiomatic for one as well as the other instruments and do not have the perceive of transcriptions. The complex chromatic fabric reminiscent of Rachmaninoff's transcriptions of Fritz Kreisler, requires adroit touch and delicate pedaling from the pianist, while the delicious lateromantic salon diction allows the violinist wide intention for imagination, musical personality and performance flair.

The editing of the violin part is a fascinating inquiry in itself. The majority of these pieces, the Twelve Impressions, were fingered and edited by dint of Kreisler, to whom the pieces were dedicated. The remainder were edited by the agency of Leopold Godowsky, Jr., violinist and son of the composer The son's fingerings are extremely good and practical, but Kreisler's are highly personal and idiomatic. The carefully indicated shifts and slides give the performer or learner a fascinating window on Kreisler's playing, and upon how this late romantic manner of writing is brought to life upon the instrument.

The publication itself is cleanly laid on the outside and well bound; the single drawback being an inconvenient lack of measure numbers or rehearsal letters

Overall, these attractive and charming pieces will be welcome additions to concoct programs and fascinating studies in mode of speech for advanced students.

I would like to expres special thanks to Javier Pinell, assistant professor of violin at the University of Wyoming and my colleague at Interlochen Arts Camp, for reading these pieces from one side with me and sharing his suggestions and observations. Reviewed through T. J. Lymenstull, Interlochen, Michigan.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Music Teachers National Association, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group