When this album first appeared in 2000 it was hailed as a landmark in the history of piano recordings. Godowsky’s audacious elaborations on Chopin’s Études are notorious for their technical difficulty. Some of them recast Chopin’s right-hand passagework for the left hand with new lines of counterpoint, while others are freer treatments of Chopin’s originals. Twenty-two of these pieces are for the left hand alone. Marc-André Hamelin’s prodigious technical control enables him to breathe air into Godowsky’s complex textures, keeping the music buoyant and mobile despite the dense layers of intricacy. No pianist before or since has accomplished this throughout these complete Studies with such nonchalant grace and musicianship. For an example of Hamelin’s virtuosity and cumulative sense of drive, try the opening Study, a formidable expansion of Chopin’s first Étude. Or, for an idea of the poetic fusion of Chopin and Godowsky, listen to No. 13 (a left-hand version of Chopin’s Op. 10/6) and No. 25 (after Chopin’s Op. 25/1). A supreme achievement.