Chopin/Godowsky Etude Op. 25 No. 12 (LH alone) played by Marc-Andre Hamelin 

Yeah I just uploaded it from the Flac file with no problem. If Hyperion takes it down ill stop uploading put I plan to get a few more Hamelin recordings out there. his stuff is impossible to find on streaming services. The part at 1:58 he does a great job with, haven't heard anyone make it sound that fiery.

No, it is not currently unmatched. Scherbakov easily matches him in Study 43, and I would say even surpasses him. His voicing is better and the overall flow is greater.

Yup, hamelins technique makes it sound totally seamless! He's one of the only ones that can make musical sense out of the godowsky etudes.

@@JG_1998 Indeed! His performance of the left hand version of Opus 10 No 4 is equally astonishing

​@@JG_1998No, he's not the only one. Grante's two complete recordings of these studies are just as good. And Scherbakov's more recent complete recording is the best.

Why did your face "melt"? Over 400 composers have written for the left hand alone. Reger's Special Studies for the left hand are very difficult. Sorabji's Study No. 36 for left hand is one of the most difficult ever written.

@@EliasCohen881 Because I didn't realize whilst listening... That's great, I'll check those out

Vadim is very good..but Hamelin is still another level.All of the Godowsky etudes played with incredible strength , penetrating sonority(he really hits my soul) and absolute phenomenal mechanical skills really make him the chosen one.Next is Francesco Libetta.

@@thepianocornertpc agreed on Libetta.

yes its pretty insane, a lot of the chopin/godowsky etudes are for the LH alone. Hamelin has become known as a specialist in LH alone repertoire generally.

You can find one on devilsynthesia's channel uploaded like a year ago. It's a long vid with each op.25 godowsky-Chopin etude and it has ocean at around 51 minutes in. Heres the link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MD28CqnkCaE.html but I'm not sure if u can click links in RU-vid comments anymore

practice (and also lots of natural talent).

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Agreed, he is like a computer (in a good way). His recording of this piece makes everyone else's sound like a joke in comparison. Generally speaking, once you go Hamelin you don't go back.

@@JG_1998 With me, once I went to Scherbakov, I never went back. Listen to Scherbakov's Study 43, and then tell me it's a "joke" compared to Hamelin's version. The latter is no longer the king of these Studies. I have the complete set from both pianists and Grante, but I now prefer Scherbakov, with Grante (2nd recording) in third place. Study 43? Hands down Scherbakov. His voicing. coloring and flow of those chords are all greater.

no, as far as I know Hamelin has never played the originals publicly, and likely has not played them since his childhood. They are probably too easy for him lol. You can listen to him play all the chopin/godowsky versions on youtube though!

@@JG_1998 Chopin is not easy for Hamelin, he struggles in Ballads, in the 2nd sonata, tons of mistakes. Godowsky version is MUCH easier to play than originals, as Godowsky was a traditional pianist so he knows how to write, the tons of notes decorating around are very comfortable, while Chopin had such unique technique and tortuous style that his works remain among the most difficult and risky to perform, as there are no technical exercises to prepare you to them, so the pianist has to invent new exercises, which will be of no use later.

@@Paroles_et_Musique you sure?!

@@zklo-fitone6654 He is technically right. Godowsky's versions are much harder than Chopin's and that is very true, but the annoying thing with Chopin etudes is that they are so well known in standard repertoire and Chopin's writing of the etudes is so simplistic that any mistake would be so easily exposed. When you combine those two things together, you can see how Chopin's etudes are harder to perform. Plus in the Godowsky versions, you can hide mistakes easier because of the way they are written compared to Chopin's. But still, it doesn't take away the fact that the Godowsky etudes are among the pinnacles of piano technique.

@@JG_1998 The Chopin Etudes are not 'too easy' for any pianist.

are you actually ok in the head?