I think this is the fastest Op. 25 No. 11 out there. I was previously under the impression that no one has ever performed this piece at Chopin's actual metronome marking, but this one is very close!
Mr Stanhope I don’t know if you read the comments section but I wanted to thank you for putting these videos out in a time when we as humans need art and music the most. Your remarks on each study are also quite insightful. Greetings from Mexico
AAAAAAAAAA!!!!! You played it!!! I’d been waiting for this for two years but was distracted by standardized testing so didn’t see your release!!! Amazing!!!!!!! I clapped at my screen like a fool when you finished study 42!
Impresionante!!!! Es tremenda esta obra...como un volcán en acción🌋....si ya de por si es dificil Chopin...Godowsky menudo hijo de....jaja...impresionante😮😮😮😮
You know, after acquainting myself with Godowsky’s 42nd study so much (spending days recreating it digitally on Mario Paint Composer and MuseScore) and listening to so many performances of it over the years (in order from favorite to least favorite: Robert Henry, Vadym Kholodenko (most recent), Marc-Andre Hamelin, Emanuele Delucchi, Carlo Grante, a few amateur pianists on TH-cam, Michael Nanasakov, and Ian Hobson), I’ve actually more or less become numb to listening to this study. Unless I’m really paying attention, it’s easy for me to kind of faze it out and treat it like background noise, and it takes a new performance like this one for it to really perk up my ears again. I saw the hype in the comments of this video and I have to say it is very much justified. I say it every time I talk about this piece, but this really is Godowsky saturating the piece for both hands to the point of exhaustion. And the way you perform it is equally as riveting and with the ferocity demanded in Chopin’s original etude - as if the most rage-fueled anger of any one human has mutated into something much more disgustingly dreaded and sinister - is something very special to behold, especially with the ossias you’ve utilized here. There’s no doubt in my mind that this study must have been a really daunting one to surmount when considering making these videos. It makes me that much more grateful and indebted to you for providing these to TH-cam for us to see. Thank you so very much Mr. Stanhope for these incredible videos. Last thing I wanna say: I’ve always adored the cheekiness of Godowsky putting those beginning few bars in the left hand. As if he couldn’t make his point any more clear haha.
@@bloba6969 - He’s not really a performer. He’s MIDI played back on a grand piano (literally; the actual dude who makes the Nanasakov audios is Junichi Nanasawa). Also, while Nanasakov has the _potential_ for the best recordings, a lottt of them are just unmusical/unrealistic. The recording of No.42 is particularly rough to listen to imo.
I was waiting for you to perform this one! I've been looking forward to this since you first started the Op.10 Godowsky studies. This is simply phenomenal. How long did it take to master this? The 8ve chromatics with the alternating notes between. It's a super human effort. Huge huge congratulations. What an inspiration!
The short answer is a long time! Lots of slow and very slow practice. And to build up strength was (for some months) something I was not sure I could manage.
I am curious if this very hard job to perform these pieces brings you any benefits in your career, of course except for having this youtube channel or was it for nothing since there's no interest for Godovsky's studies in world's concert halls. Simplier: can anybody make money with it?
@@w.hor6000 Very little money can be made by anyone from recordings these days. Furthermore, a well-known music critic and interviewer told me in London several decades ago that it was impossible to make a career as a soloist unless one looked good in a wet T-shirt (I don't and never did). There is interest in Godowsky, however. I was asked last year if I would perform all the Godowsky studies at a major Chopin festival in Poland. I turned it down, partly because I lack concert practice and partly because I cannot bear plane travel. But mainly because getting opus 10 and opus 25 in shape for a single performance would be too much work!
Question: For the section at 4:37, I see many pianists play A-A-A-B-A-E-A in the lower register of the left hand. Does anyone know if this is what Chopin wrote or why people play this?
The edition that I play has that and I just crossed checked with other editions and the melody there is the same with every edition. So I presume that's what Chopin wrote.
I can confirm it's A-A-A-B-A-E-A, it's both in the Paderewski Edition and the Ekier (National Edition) and there's no variant suggested. It also makes sense, since it's the main motif.
I listened to all his Godowsky several years ago, but not since - too depressing! So I can't remember any details apart from his playing being more polished than my efforts. I think he used more rubato throughout the studies than I did.
I’m gonna chime in as someone who has listened to as many interpretations of this study as I could find lol. Hamelin’s technique is phenomenal, but his voicing is lacking in many parts of the study. Also, when he plays the octave parts in the right hand, I just cannot hear the middle notes. It just sounds like octave triplets rather than sextuplets.
I am not a concert pianist - sometimes I hardly play at all for a year or two. I tend to have an intense period of practice, after which I do some recording. I learned all the opus 25 studies simultaneously over about two years.
Hey David, as this series is slowly coming to an end....I'm curious to know if you also have the Trois Nouvelles Etudes in the pipeline as well as the combined etudes (10/5 & 25/9....as well as the 10/11 & 25/3 combined etude)
If I do, it won't be for some time. I have some other projects to attend to (including finishing my house - the wall seen behind me still has only an undercoat on). When I do return to the piano, I think I should record a few pieces of my own. Nobody else plays them!
@@w3sp There are two pieces that can be purchased from the Australian Music Centre (who represent me in compositional regard): Petite Suite Française (4 movements) and the Little Ripper March. Maybe you could give the premières! Also a transcription of "Father and Daughter" by Percy Grainger. Some other transcriptions will be available once I get around to uploading them to the AMC.
@@davidrichardstanhope Oh, didn't you had such an extensive library of own compositions. I'll watch out for samples to see which one(s) I like most, have the time to learn and maybe upload to youtube :-)
Would you suggest using the ring finger for the single notes after the octaves/chords for the right hand melodies? Also, Im no expert but the right hand in Godowsky's study seems more difficult than the left (or it could be my imagination) what are your thoughts?
It depends on the relation between the octaves and single notes which finger, but it's mostly index and middle in the right hand, sometimes ring finger in left. Both hands are equally difficult!
@@davidrichardstanhope Awesome, thanks for the reply! I also wanted to ask: Which left hand only study would you recommend to someone with low technical prowess on their left hand?
Building strength is the key. When I first started learning 0p.10 no.4 I could hardly get through the first page! That's a good one to build strength in all fingers, however slowly you play it. @@Yatagarasu.
@@davidrichardstanhope Gotcha!! Regarding practice with these monstrous pieces, how do you approach them? Do you practice a few measures with separate hands, then reunite them? use of Metronome? what other piano exercises/drills aside from the piece should a pianist add as a complement
The speed is unmusical. At that velocity it is just a noise. The metronome has a chequered history in terms of tempo and there were several serious episodes of crazy / inexplicable speeds in musical history.
@@oleed8516 Tempo marking for Opus 10 no 4 is presto with more specifically being 88 bpm for half notes, the vast majority of the piece is in 16th notes which are played at 704 bpm per note. Opus 25 no 3 is played at Allegro has only a few bars with 32nd notes which are played at 960 per note. So it has brief faster portions but Opus 10 no 4 is still faster overall as I stated, because it almost always has 16th notes playing while Opus 25 no 3 has mostly 16th notes played at a slower pace with a few faster bursts but that's it.
0:00 - Remarks about Chopin Etude Op.25 No.11
1:37 - Chopin Etude Op.25 No.11
4:57 - Remarks about Godowsky’s study on Chopin Etude Op.25 No.11
6:27 - Chopin-Godowsky: Study on Op.25 No.11
I think this is the fastest Op. 25 No. 11 out there. I was previously under the impression that no one has ever performed this piece at Chopin's actual metronome marking, but this one is very close!
Mr Stanhope I don’t know if you read the comments section but I wanted to thank you for putting these videos out in a time when we as humans need art and music the most. Your remarks on each study are also quite insightful. Greetings from Mexico
We do, don't we? Also a bit of sanity. Thanks for the comment.
Well, I'm quite speechless... Can't believe a human could play like that... simply awestruck...
If the original Chopin etude was entitled "Winter Wind," the Godowsky version should be called "Winter Cataclysm." What a monster of a piano piece.
Even “Avalanche” would be apt
Or tsunami!
Chopin and Godowsky at the same time:
th-cam.com/video/J29LCWsTE5E/w-d-xo.html
That ending!!! Thank you Mr. Stanhope for this wonderful series!!
You and others have made it worthwhile - thank you!
This study seems like a fun one to play with! XD
And it's nearly impossible
AAAAAAAAAA!!!!! You played it!!! I’d been waiting for this for two years but was distracted by standardized testing so didn’t see your release!!! Amazing!!!!!!! I clapped at my screen like a fool when you finished study 42!
Impresionante!!!! Es tremenda esta obra...como un volcán en acción🌋....si ya de por si es dificil Chopin...Godowsky menudo hijo de....jaja...impresionante😮😮😮😮
This is incredible...
You know, after acquainting myself with Godowsky’s 42nd study so much (spending days recreating it digitally on Mario Paint Composer and MuseScore) and listening to so many performances of it over the years (in order from favorite to least favorite: Robert Henry, Vadym Kholodenko (most recent), Marc-Andre Hamelin, Emanuele Delucchi, Carlo Grante, a few amateur pianists on TH-cam, Michael Nanasakov, and Ian Hobson), I’ve actually more or less become numb to listening to this study. Unless I’m really paying attention, it’s easy for me to kind of faze it out and treat it like background noise, and it takes a new performance like this one for it to really perk up my ears again. I saw the hype in the comments of this video and I have to say it is very much justified.
I say it every time I talk about this piece, but this really is Godowsky saturating the piece for both hands to the point of exhaustion. And the way you perform it is equally as riveting and with the ferocity demanded in Chopin’s original etude - as if the most rage-fueled anger of any one human has mutated into something much more disgustingly dreaded and sinister - is something very special to behold, especially with the ossias you’ve utilized here. There’s no doubt in my mind that this study must have been a really daunting one to surmount when considering making these videos. It makes me that much more grateful and indebted to you for providing these to TH-cam for us to see. Thank you so very much Mr. Stanhope for these incredible videos.
Last thing I wanna say: I’ve always adored the cheekiness of Godowsky putting those beginning few bars in the left hand. As if he couldn’t make his point any more clear haha.
I feel like this video is a game-changer in the “Study 42 community.” A happy reunion for we few, we merry few; we band of brothers 😝
Michael Nanasakov might be the best performer on youtube. That's the name of the piano btw
@@bloba6969 - He’s not really a performer. He’s MIDI played back on a grand piano (literally; the actual dude who makes the Nanasakov audios is Junichi Nanasawa). Also, while Nanasakov has the _potential_ for the best recordings, a lottt of them are just unmusical/unrealistic. The recording of No.42 is particularly rough to listen to imo.
@@TheExarion that's what i was saying. Nanasakov is the piano, and it can probably play anything, but as you said, it lacks musicality.
@@bloba6969 if it's a real piano you can individually program the volume and timing of each note to make it more musical
I was waiting for you to perform this one! I've been looking forward to this since you first started the Op.10 Godowsky studies. This is simply phenomenal. How long did it take to master this? The 8ve chromatics with the alternating notes between. It's a super human effort. Huge huge congratulations. What an inspiration!
The short answer is a long time! Lots of slow and very slow practice. And to build up strength was (for some months) something I was not sure I could manage.
I am curious if this very hard job to perform these pieces brings you any benefits in your career, of course except for having this youtube channel or was it for nothing since there's no interest for Godovsky's studies in world's concert halls. Simplier: can anybody make money with it?
@@w.hor6000 Very little money can be made by anyone from recordings these days. Furthermore, a well-known music critic and interviewer told me in London several decades ago that it was impossible to make a career as a soloist unless one looked good in a wet T-shirt (I don't and never did). There is interest in Godowsky, however. I was asked last year if I would perform all the Godowsky studies at a major Chopin festival in Poland. I turned it down, partly because I lack concert practice and partly because I cannot bear plane travel. But mainly because getting opus 10 and opus 25 in shape for a single performance would be too much work!
Here he created one hell of a apocalypse...
Absolutely Incredible!!! Out of this world!!!
I legit thought my playback speed was 2x for the first few seconds...
Question: For the section at 4:37, I see many pianists play A-A-A-B-A-E-A in the lower register of the left hand. Does anyone know if this is what Chopin wrote or why people play this?
One edition I have has it as a "variant" in a footnote.
The edition that I play has that and I just crossed checked with other editions and the melody there is the same with every edition. So I presume that's what Chopin wrote.
I can confirm it's A-A-A-B-A-E-A, it's both in the Paderewski Edition and the Ekier (National Edition) and there's no variant suggested. It also makes sense, since it's the main motif.
What an absolute beast!!!
Spectacular!
9:40 earthquake camera
As if Winter Wind isn't hard enough, he's switched the RH part to the LH 😭😭😭😭😭
Amazing
How do you learn this type of pieces ? Maybe quite fast learning too ? By repeating in different rythms ? Accentuations ?
Thanks, David !
A lot of slow practice, separate hands, dotted rhythms...definitely not fast learning!
@@davidrichardstanhope Okay, thanks again ! I'll apply that for some etudes, scales and arpeggios :D
@Peter the NWO Rabbit Thanks a lot, Peter !
Complimenti maestro!!
Have you by any chance heard Marc Andre Hamelin play the Godowsky version ? I would love to know your thoughts on his interpretation and technique
I listened to all his Godowsky several years ago, but not since - too depressing! So I can't remember any details apart from his playing being more polished than my efforts. I think he used more rubato throughout the studies than I did.
I’m gonna chime in as someone who has listened to as many interpretations of this study as I could find lol. Hamelin’s technique is phenomenal, but his voicing is lacking in many parts of the study. Also, when he plays the octave parts in the right hand, I just cannot hear the middle notes. It just sounds like octave triplets rather than sextuplets.
SUUUUUPER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fantastic job, David.
May I ask - how long did it take you to learn this étude thoroughly? How many pieces are you able to learn in a year?
I am not a concert pianist - sometimes I hardly play at all for a year or two. I tend to have an intense period of practice, after which I do some recording. I learned all the opus 25 studies simultaneously over about two years.
@@davidrichardstanhope Not a concert pianist? Could have fooled me…
Absolutely fantastic stuff, I’m deeply impressed.
He's inhuman. Superhuman!
Hey David, as this series is slowly coming to an end....I'm curious to know if you also have the Trois Nouvelles Etudes in the pipeline as well as the combined etudes (10/5 & 25/9....as well as the 10/11 & 25/3 combined etude)
If I do, it won't be for some time. I have some other projects to attend to (including finishing my house - the wall seen behind me still has only an undercoat on). When I do return to the piano, I think I should record a few pieces of my own. Nobody else plays them!
@@davidrichardstanhope is there any sheet music to share? I'd love to look at them
@@w3sp There are two pieces that can be purchased from the Australian Music Centre (who represent me in compositional regard): Petite Suite Française (4 movements) and the Little Ripper March. Maybe you could give the premières! Also a transcription of "Father and Daughter" by Percy Grainger. Some other transcriptions will be available once I get around to uploading them to the AMC.
@@davidrichardstanhope Oh, didn't you had such an extensive library of own compositions. I'll watch out for samples to see which one(s) I like most, have the time to learn and maybe upload to youtube :-)
How about some Stanhope transcriptions of Godowsky’s transcriptions of Chopin’s etudes? 😈
Godowsky and alkan would be the HARDEST for me
Well if you count the modern composers such as messiaen or sorabji, they pale in comparison, but i don't think their music is as good
Your location marker says "Robertson". Is this refering to Oberlin Conservatory's Robertson hall??
Would you suggest using the ring finger for the single notes after the octaves/chords for the right hand melodies?
Also, Im no expert but the right hand in Godowsky's study seems more difficult than the left (or it could be my imagination) what are your thoughts?
It depends on the relation between the octaves and single notes which finger, but it's mostly index and middle in the right hand, sometimes ring finger in left. Both hands are equally difficult!
@@davidrichardstanhope Awesome, thanks for the reply! I also wanted to ask:
Which left hand only study would you recommend to someone with low technical prowess on their left hand?
Building strength is the key. When I first started learning 0p.10 no.4 I could hardly get through the first page! That's a good one to build strength in all fingers, however slowly you play it. @@Yatagarasu.
@@davidrichardstanhope Gotcha!!
Regarding practice with these monstrous pieces, how do you approach them?
Do you practice a few measures with separate hands, then reunite them?
use of Metronome?
what other piano exercises/drills aside from the piece should a pianist add as a complement
The same way for any piece - slow practice, separate hands. One should learn the original Chopin study first.@@Yatagarasu.
as if winter wind wasnt hard enough godowsky why you do that
The speed is unmusical. At that velocity it is just a noise. The metronome has a chequered history in terms of tempo and there were several serious episodes of crazy / inexplicable speeds in musical history.
Are you related to Doug Stanhope?
i know a guy irl with your exact same name 😭
me too😵💫
You doubted not in vain. Op. 25 №3 has fragments with 240 bmp for 4 notes. This etude has 207 bmp for 4 notes - so it isn't the fastest.
Pretty sure Opus 10 no 4 is still faster overall anyways.
@@sigmaballz1469 No. Op. 10 №4 is in only 176 bpm (for 4 notes).
What do you mean for 4 notes? Do you mean 4 quarter notes or 4 sixteenth notes?
@Varun Just 4 notes per metronome beat: in op. 10 №4 - 16-th notes, in op. 25 №3 - 32-th notes.
@@oleed8516 Tempo marking for Opus 10 no 4 is presto with more specifically being 88 bpm for half notes, the vast majority of the piece is in 16th notes which are played at 704 bpm per note. Opus 25 no 3 is played at Allegro has only a few bars with 32nd notes which are played at 960 per note. So it has brief faster portions but Opus 10 no 4 is still faster overall as I stated, because it almost always has 16th notes playing while Opus 25 no 3 has mostly 16th notes played at a slower pace with a few faster bursts but that's it.
godowsky is our god stg lol