Leopold Godowsky (13 February 1870 – 21 November 1938) was a Lithuanian-born American virtuoso pianist, composer and teacher. He was virtually self-taught, a child prodigy who became one of the most highly regarded (and highly paid) performers of his time. His theories concerning the application of relaxed weight and economy of motion were adopted by many pianists, while his writing for the left hand alone was revolutionary.

He was heralded among musical giants as the ‘Buddha of the Piano’, ‘Mr God’ and ‘A Pianist for Pianists’. Ferruccio Busoni claimed that he and Godowsky were ‘the only composers to have added anything of significance to keyboard writing since Franz Liszt’.

As a composer, Godowsky wrote for no other instrument than the piano. Some of his music is regarded as the most difficult ever written for the instrument. His best known works are his 53 Studies on Chopin’s Études (1894–1914) and his transcriptions of works by other composers. His original compositions include Java Suite, Triakontameron, Passacaglia and Walzermasken.

Jeremy Nicholas’s acclaimed biography of Leopold Godowsky, first published in 1989, is now available on request in a newly-revised and updated digital edition. For details, please contact jeremy@jeremynicholas.com.