Moto perpetuo
Leopold Godowsky 1870–1938
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Our estimate Virtuoso
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Themes & character
Perpetual motion·Unbroken figuration·Endurance and evenness·Virtuoso genre
About the piece
A perpetual motion piece, the genre in which a continuous stream of fast notes runs without pause from the first bar to the last, testing evenness and stamina above all.
The form appealed to virtuosos from Weber and Paganini onward. In Godowsky's hands it becomes an exercise in absolute control, since the slightest unevenness in an unbroken texture is instantly audible.
The composer
Leopold Godowsky
1870–1938
Leopold Mordkhelovich Godowsky Sr. was a virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher, born in what is now Lithuania to Jewish parents, who became an American citizen in 1891. He was one of the most highly regarded performers of his time, known for his theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion within pianistic technique – principles later propagated by his pupils, such as Heinrich Neuhaus.
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