There are today in Sweden a number of excellent, creative and imaginative, technically skilled pianists. We can for example mention Johan Ullén, Niklas Sivelöv, Mats Widlund, Stefan Lindgren, Bengt Forsberg, Anders Kilström, Roland Pöntinen, Kristine Scholz, Mats Persson – and Bengt-Åke Lundin. Lundin is featured on this CD, playing – with bravura – works by the legendary pianist – and composer – Leopold Godowsky.

When I hear the name Leopold Godowsky my thoughts immediately move on to Marc-André Hamelin and his recordings on Hyperion of Godowsky’s “Studies on Chopin’s Etudes”. These are masterly recordings of Godowsky’s fifty-three studies of Chopin’s twenty-four Etudes, twenty-two of which Godowsky wrote for the left hand alone.
Lundin has no reason, however, to fear venturing into Godowsky land. He has recently – in 1998 – shown what a great pianist he is, on another recording on Caprice; CAP 21608, with piano concerts by Sven-David Sandström and Johan Hammerth; not exactly simple compositions… He has been quite prolific, with two recent joint CDs too; lone with Petja Svensson [cello] and another one with Cecilia Zilliacus [violin].

Here Bengt-Åke Lundin starts off with Leopold Godowsky’s “Sonata in E-minor”, also titled “Grand Sonata” (1910 – 1911). It’s an extended sonata, taking up the major part of the CD duration. There are five movements, and the first one lasts all but twenty-three minutes, rolling on in a romantic atmosphere of deeply felt feelings and passionate gestures, even grandiose at times – but that is a sign of the times, of the period. I suppose anyone who acquires this CD has no contemporary demands on the music; it is old, and sounds old – but then again, we all listen to the classical piano concertos, don’t we; Mozart and Beethoven, and the sonatas of Schubert and Schumann too… so it’s in line with that we can hear this music.
So… no surprises, but who wants to be surprised all the time. Instead this CD claims its well deserved place within a grand tradition, while at the same time focusing our attention in the music of a virtuoso from the past, rising in all his might out of the binary progressions on this compact disc, bringing to life feelings, atmospheres, whole cultural concepts, f earlier epochs in Western art music. It’s valuable to dwell on the past at times, to realize where you are now, and how you got here. This CD fulfills that purpose very well, even though that might not have been the outspoken intention of the recording company of the pianist – but I’m sure Bengt-Åke Lundin, as the fine artist he is, firmly understands what I mean by this reflection. Clearly Leopold Godowsky offers among the finest pianism of his day.

The third movement is a rapid show-off of glistening intellectualism or maybe just frivolous joy – who knows; maybe amplified by some refreshment or other; great fun, virtuous playing, rhythmical significance, twirling spirals of the keyboard, almost to the point of dizziness, resembling some of the things Emil von Sauer could do with the piano at times…

The fifth and last movement is the second longest with its in excess of seven-teen minutes. The movement has a Dies irae in the tempo indication, and consequently it is a serious event, almost like a Marcia funebre. The long list of indications for this concluding music of the sonata also harbors a Lento mesto and a Larghetto lamentoso, so the serenity of emotion is in place throughout, concluding the great sonata in thoughtfulness and reflection. This is masterly composed music, in the last movement reaching out to modern times in a sort of timeless statement, touching us today equally as naked and direct as it must have done at the time of composition.

The last piece on the CD is music that Godowsky based on Johann Strauss’ “Künstlerleben”. It has the subtitle “From Symphonische Metamorphosen Johann Strauss’scher Themen” and was written 1905/1912. There are many waltz themes rising up out of this music, like ghosts dancing through the dimmed light of a memory of a dance hall of long gone days. This is a vision rising from our great grandfather’s cocky days of early manhood!

Bengt-Åke Lundin’s playing is sheer beauty, without a single flaw, and the quality of the recorded sound is full, fat, bright and voluminous like it should be.