Saint-Saëns/Godowsky - "Le Cygne (The Swan)"

Some people dream of one day getting married and having kids (no thanks ✋😊) or dream of money and career goals (omg yawn), I, on the other hand, have dreamed of playing the Godowsky arrangement of Saint-Saëns’ “Le Cygne” (The Swan) ever since I witnessed Francesco Libetta‘s sublime performance of it on his amazing “Libetta in Lecce” DVD from 2003.

This arrangement, from 1927, is one of the absolute masterpieces of piano literature; Godowsky taking Saint-Saëns’ original melody and weaving in a colorful, delicate cascade of 16th notes, subtle chromatic harmonies, and even polyrhythms. It’s overall effect is pure, heavenly delight - the original melody always seems to just be floating somewhere, poking through the endless pianistic filigree.

When I first heard Libetta play this (19 years ago!), I couldn’t believe something so rich, so lush could come out of the piano. Of course, I tried my best back then to practice this piece, but it was always met with total failure. My fingers just could not execute these notes. To a certain extent, they still can’t with total ease, but it’s a lot more enjoyable now, where the only ‘pressure’ that exists is no longer in my mind (“practice harder you loser”) but in just trying to get a decent single take. I mean you can see my hands at the very end, during the sparkly descending cascade of notes, having realized I got a somewhat decent take, start to shake terribly. Thankfully I seem to have made it.

But as I keep writing, I’m also reminded of how profoundly unimportant all of this is. Making a big deal out of life’s events - out of your likes, dislikes, desires and aversions - is something we’re all here to unlearn. Your goals don’t matter. Your fears don’t matter. The only thing that matters is how alive you feel in this very moment. So rejoice. It’s a beautiful day out. The sun is shining. I think I’ll go outside and enjoy that.

Have a great day.