Scott Morrison wrote:

>I'd previously written that I had ordered, but not yet received, the
>Hamelin recording.  Well, the 2-CD set arrived, and boy is it a doozy!
>
>Hamelin puts Madge in the shade.  I've not heard the Bolet or the Grante
>recordings and can't comment about them.

I taped the Madge version from a friend, and have never listened to it
again.  Some of the Etudes, particularly one based on Op 25/1 was not even
recognizable as done by Madge.  Both Bolet and Hobson do it beautifully,
with Bolet having the edge IMO.  At least the Madge set had very good liner
notes, explaining the different methods that Godowsky used.

 From the liner notes, the studies are in several forms:

1    Strict Transcriptions
2    Free Transcriptions
2a  Freely Treated
2b  Inverted
2c  Combined with other Studies
2d  Being imitated through the medium of another study
3    "Cantus Firmus"versions - Studies in which the text of the original
study in the right hand is strictly adhered to in the left hand of the
version while the right hand is freely treated in a contrapuntal way.
4    Versions in the form of variations: Studies in which the text of the
original etude is used as a basis for free variations.
5    Metamorphoses: Studies in which the character, design and rhythm of the
original text are altered while the architectural structure remains intact
although the melodic and harmonic outline is often considerably modified.

This is probably more than anyone wanted to know.

Deryk Barker had a problem with Hobson in an earlier post.  Deryk, is your
opinion about Hobson ONLY related to the Godowsky works, or do you not like
him in general??

BTW - I ordered my set of Hamelin's disks today - (along with too much
other music that I probably can't afford - don't tell anyone!!)

Joel Hill
Tallahassee, FL - USA
ALKAN Web Page: http://www.nettally.com/joelhill/alkan