Leopold Godowsky was born in Soshly, near Vilna, Poland, on February 13,
1870. A prodigy pianist, he attended the Berlin High School for Music,
after which he made his American debut in Boston in 1884. Additional
study took place in Paris with Saint-Saëns. Godowsky then launched his
career as a mature concert pianist with performances throughout the
world of music. He achieved international renown not only as a virtuoso
but also as a teacher of the piano, at the Chicago Conservatory and the
Vienna Academy. His concert career ended in 1930 when he was stricken by
a slight paralysis of the hand. As a composer, Godowsky was most famous
for his suites for the piano, the most famous being _Triakontameron_,
_Java_, and _Renaissance_. He also produced a library of remarkable
transcriptions for the piano. He died in New York City on November 21,
1938.
Though Godowsky was a sophisticated composer of highly complex piano
works, he did succeed in producing at least one number that became an
international “hit.” It was the _Alt Wien_ (_Old Vienna_), a
sentimental, nostalgic piece of music on whose title page appears the
following quotation: “Whose yesterdays look backwards with a smile
through tears.” _Alt Wien_ is the eleventh number in _Triakontameron_
(1920), a suite in six volumes described by the composer as “thirty
moods and scenes in triple measure.” The immense popularity of _Alt
Wien_ is proved by its many and varied transcriptions: for salon
orchestra; band; violin and piano (by Heifetz); three-part woman’s
chorus; dance orchestra; marimba and piano; and even a popular song
adapted by David Saperton to lyrics by Stella Ungar.