Bach: Goldberg Variations (Gould's Exciting Debut Recording of 1955)
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CD Details
Composer: Johann Sebastian BachPerformer: Glenn Gould
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1990-10-25
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
- Aria
- Variation 1
- Variation 2
- Variation 3
- Variation 4
- Variation 5
- Variation 6
- Variation 7
- Variation 8
- Variation 9
- Variation 10
- Variation 11
- Variation 12
- Variation 13
- Variation 14
- Variation 15
- Variation 16
- Variation 17
- Variation 18
- Variation 19
- Variation 20
- Variation 21
- Variation 22
- Variation 23
- Variation 24
- Variation 25
- Variation 26
- Variation 27
- Variation 28
- Variation 29
- Variation 30
- Aria da capo
Music reviews of Bach: Goldberg Variations (Gould's Exciting Debut Recording of 1955)
Music Review: Glenn Gould Classic
Rating: 5 Stars
ABOUT THE ALBUM: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH, GOLDBERG VARIATIONS, RECORDED 1955 AT COLUMBIA MASTERWORKS 30TH STREET STUDIOS, NEW YORK CITY, RELEASED BY CBS RECORDS, REMASTERED FOR CD "GREAT PERFORMANCES" BY COLUMBIA RECORDS. GLENN GOULD, PIANIST.
With this debut album of Bach's Goldberg Variations, Canadian prodigy Glenn Gould established himself as a world-class musician. He had studied piano since childhood, and had a fondness for the works of Bach and Mozart. The Goldberg Variations are especially challenging with their rapid changes in tempi, and few pianists after Gould have been able to do what Gould does with them. An eccentric artist, Gould hummed while he played piano, moved his body clock-wise and made gestures with his hands in the air. He was a private, reclusive and sensitive man, touched with a brilliant flair for Baroque keyboard works. The Goldberg Variations were written by Bach as a commission to gratify an insomniac German monarch who wanted to listen to soothing piano music to help him sleep. If that same monarch were to hear this recording of the Variations, he wouldn't sleep a wink. Gould lavishes energy and zest to each note, and even the slower movements are thoroughly enjoyable and exciting. He does hum while playing this Baroque masterpiece, but the engineers made it almost inaudible and when compared to his second round of the Variations in the 1980's, this one is a lot better as far as performance and lack of the annoying sounds Gould makes. This one captures an artist ready to conquer the classical music scene, which he did. For years, he was the reigning pianist who did not come from Europe. His temperament, technical brilliance and seriousness gave us works of passionate and masterful outpouring.
This recording is one of two, the latter for Columbia Records re-released in the 90's with improved sound quality. This one isn't bad, it's just at times the sound is lowered and can have a soporific and sleep-inducing, dreamy effect, perfectly encompassing the original mood of the Variations. But make no mistake. There are instances in which Gould is diabolically swift, Lisztian in his performance, with thrilling roulades, note-for-note accuracy and bell-like clarity. He makes this otherwise dull piece of piano music into something as riveting as a rock concert. His stylish showiness seems to engage the listener, forcing us to hear the entire set of variations. The beginning theme is an aria, and known technically as an aria da capo, for it starts and ends the work, in a full circle. The aria is sad, beautiful, and even haunting. The later variations can also seem haunting, and quite grave, at times sounding like one is not only going to sleep, but getting ready for the Big Sleep. But the sense of mystery and elegance, so common in Baroque music like Bach and his contemporaries Handel and Vivaldi, are inherent in the work and makes it very much a work of art. Gould may have been getting attention by merely playing the music his way, but he was honoring Bach in his own way, and making Bach more like the flashy star that was Mozart. This album indeed gained notoriety and has become a legendary album, with millions of music loving fans who own it.
Description of Bach: Goldberg Variations (Gould's Exciting Debut Recording of 1955)
In the summer of 1955, a brash, eccentric, and awesomely gifted 22-year-old pianist swept the didactic cobwebs off this monumental opus, and a star was born. For listeners weaned on romantic Bach stylings of Fischer, Casals, and Landowska, the effect was like stepping into an ice cold shower. Glenn Gould's agile, independent hands and hair-trigger rhythm ignited Bach's virtuosic writing with insight and irreverence, sprucing up the counterpoint with crisp articulation, perky accents, and jaw-dropping tempos. This debut recording is the best-known and arguably the finest of Gould's commercial discs. Buy it and hear why. --Jed DistlerGeneral CDs
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