A State of Wonder: The Complete Goldberg Variations (1955 & 1981)
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Free Music Notes for A State of Wonder: The Complete Goldberg Variations (1955 & 1981)
Free Music Review: It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This Folks
Hit: 5 Stars
This particular version of JS Bach's "Goldberg" Variations really should require no review at all; anyone even remotely interested in this kind of music should already know it. It is J.S. Bach -- the undisputed all time master of the contrapuntal fugue form -- at the peak of his compositional skills, as interpreted by Glenn Gould - a keyboard genius without parallel - perhaps the greatest classical piano virtuoso in the history of the human race.
Track for track what you have here is quite literally the most thrilling and intricate Baroque era single clavinette music ever written. In fact it is generally understood that the only reason the Goldberg Variations are not heard as often as Bach's signature work, the far more famous "Well Tempered Clavinette" collection, is simply because there are so few people around with the level of skill necessary to perform them.
Give extremely high marks to Gould then, because this recording is replete with rivers of sizzling notes moving flawlessly in all directions at blinding speeds...speeds at times too hard to even process through the human ear much less play! One can almost picture him at the keyboard, eyes closed, head cocked and bowed way over, both hands "flying" up and down the keyboard performing their simultaneously complex scales and counter-scales with an astonishing amount of intensity and almost un-human, precision-like perfection.
There are 30 Goldberg variations (not counting the two arias at the open and close which are illustrative), each variant containing between two and four voices, and each characterized by canons and other repeated sections, but the really interesting twist on this production is that you get 2 recordings of the same set of variations; one is Gould in his brilliant 1955 recording debut- the one that created the sensation which landed him on the cover of Time magazine at the time, and the second with Gould in 1981 just days before he died, back in the studio performing the same set in the same exact order.
Even the fact that much of this paricular collection is done on old analogue recording gear (circa 1955) adds to its pure delight, with tape giving back the true depth, clear spatial definition, and good old stereo separation taken away in this less personal "digital" era in which we currently live and record.
So it all makes for an amazing experience, truly so. I say: BUY IT, BUY IT, BUY IT--- even if you're low on money--buy it! Even if you're "Baroque"--buy it!
Free Music Review: Iconoclast, Auteur, and Epic Genius
Hit: 5 Stars
Finding something new to say about the legendary '55 Gould Goldberg is like trying to come up with something new to say about Davis' Kind Of Blue, Coltrane's A Love Supreme, The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper, Hendrix's Are You Experienced? or Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. Gould's contribution to the history of recorded music is simply that revolutionary. The more important question may be: How does it hold up? Let's answer that question with another question - does the Sistine Chapel hold up? Suffice to say that the '55 Goldberg is something that I will turn to throughout my lifetime - for it's brashness of vision, vitality, energy brimming over the edge, and supreme musicality. No mistaking, we enter Gould's world when we stick the disc in the player - snobs may gripe that it's not really Bach's world. That makes Gould the ultimate auteur of Bach's music - in fact, he may just be the Martin Scorsese of the great pianists. To listen to this time and again is to rediscover the pure joy of musicmaking. Here it is then, Gould the iconoclast, the passionate oddball genius, the great Anti-Tureck.
As for the '81 Gould Goldberg, it is an epic journey worthy of Gilgamesh. Brashness is replaced with reverence. Wild energy is replaced with precision and the intense concentration of a great mathematician. Bach's architecture is clarified by the hands of a searching intellect. No other recording illuminates so greatly what the left hand is doing in the Goldberg. It is a bravura bass performance. A personal stamp is left on every variation. Gould makes the keyboard sing, like voices interacting and responding to each other. The pivotal Variation 25 is the epitome of Gould - searching, epic, spontaneous yet deliberate - I swear it could be Thelonius Monk playing! The final quodlibet is a joyful dance - something in the nature of Matisse's Dance paintings. And to arrive back to the Aria is something altogether profound - the end of an epic journey, yet with so many questions unanswered that one must embark on the journey again. At less than 20 bucks, this is the bargain of the century. You can't afford not to have it. *****
Other references: Top recommendation from Rough Guide, Jim Svejda's classical guides and Classical Music: Third Ear; Recommended by NPR Guide, Gramophone and Penguin Guide. *one of Gramophone's 100 Greatest Recordings* *NY Times Essential Library 100*
Free Music Review: Superb
Hit: 5 Stars
When Sony bought Columbia, they began reissuing Glenn Gould albums, with new packaging and audio mastering. I think they realized early on that Gould fans are often merciless perfectionists, and vainly view their music collections more as "archives" than as "yonder pile," and hence have no tolerance for hack jobs. These are people, after all, who buy classical music for its own sake, and not as functional generic background music or "relaxation." Thus, there is a rigorous audio standard Sony tries to hold itself to, as well as to a historical standard.STATE OF WONDER is probably the ultimate expression of this policy. It was simply a very good idea to devote a single package to these two recordings of the Goldberg Variations. The 1955 recording which was Gould's first album, and the 1981 recording, which was his last. The third CD consists of a fascinating and strange Canadian Broadcast Co. interview (Sony has also acquired basically any audio or visual recording of Gould) shortly before his 1981 death, as well as some outtakes from the 1955 sessions. The interview ranges all over, including a really weird parody of a non-existent English actor that you have to hear to believe. Gould and the interviewer discuss many of the variations in-depth; any Bach student will be interested in hearing it.
Gould was a ruthless critic of the '55 recording, as you'll hear in the interview, and the difference between the two recordings is IMMEDIATELY evident with his tempo in the Aria. In the '81 recording, he more violently plunges into the 1st Variation, which is startling, especially after the much slower tempo.
A brief essay from the interviewer is included in the booklet, as is Gould's perspicacious liner notes from the 1955. He talked the way he wrote, eloquently wrapped up in the precision of his art and not really giving a damn what anyone else thought. Also, a brief explication of the recording and remastering technology will be helpful to the tech-philes.
(Several years ago I bought Gould's recording of the Mozart sonatas, and totally regretted it. They're awful; played indifferently. So it was funny to hear in the interview Gould panning his own recording and laughingly talking about detesting Mozart.)
This is vital for any collector of Gould's work, and anyone who wants to hear the Goldberg Variations cannot possibly go wrong with Gould's work.
Free Music Review: is it possible to rate it 500 stars?
Hit: 5 Stars
After having roamed the earth for a few decades and sampled what I could of its delights, I must declare Gould's performances of Bach's "Goldberg Variations" (specifically, this 3-CD set) to be, in the final analysis, one of the 3 or 4 most heartbreaking and inexpressibly lovely things I have ever encountered.
Here's the story, though I'm no expert:
In the mid-1950's, Glenn Gould was a dorky and unknown Canadian pianist who recorded these pieces, until then considered too "cerebral" to have a very wide audience.
But the suprising grace and remarkable clarity of the performances shot Gould to superstardom, where, regrettably, he spent his tenure as a fey and off-putting crank.
Many years later, saddened and deeply bruised by life, Gould recorded the exact same pieces again, and they sounded completely different! Instead of being bright and vivacious, they were now somber and withdrawn.
And then, mere days after recording the second version, Gould was gone from the earth.
You are getting 3 CD's: the first is the 1955 recordings, the second is the 1981 recordings, and the third is a kind of interview disk done with Gould days before his death in which the differences are dwelt upon.
Nothing is perfect, however, and there are things that bother me even with these divine CDs.
For example, the sick and eccentric Gould has a habit of humming audibly and knocking the piano as he played. Endearing? Get ready for it in any case.
Also, the technical laying-out of the CDs could have been brought off more cunningly. For example, Gould had a way of launching from one piece to the next without much of a pause. Those who laid out the tracks for the CDs would have been wiser to make each CD one track, that it may not be interrupted. But as it is, if you rip the CD's to your computer or iPod, this will be a constant annoyance, as the tracks have to momentarily reorient to refresh themselves. (If you know what I'm talking about, make sure you rip the tracks as one giant track, and that should take care of the problem.)
Alas! I fear the earth holds few such treasures.
Free Music Review: Two for One
Hit: 5 Stars
Glenn Gould recorded two very different versions of Goldberg Variations, and you get both of them here. The first (from 1955) made him famous, while the 1981 recording was his swan song. The 1981 version definitely has the fuller modern sound and Gould goes deeper, yet 1955 is historic, the sound is still excellent, and Gould's technique is just amazing! The original 1955 version is the faster of the two. The 1981 version is more than 12 minutes longer, because of the slower tempo. This difference should make it clear that Gould does not intend either version to be definitive. He probably did not believe in the concept of a definitive recording, although most of his critics seem to have such a notion. I wonder what Bach would have thought.
If you are new to Glenn Gould, I suggest you first listen to a more traditional recording of Goldberg Variations (Angela Hewitt's release is wonderful). Gould is idiosyncratic to say the least. Remember that even now, almost three decades after his death, his work remains controversial. Everyone agrees that he was a masterful pianist, one of the best ever, but many people just don't like his eccentric approach to Bach. They find the fast parts too fast, and slow is too slow. In the 1981 version, many object to Gould's tuneless humming in the background. Eccentric? You bet. But nobody else could even get away with it. "That nut is a genius," as Szell was once heard to quip.
Anyone who finds Gould too eccentric, or perverse, should try Angela Hewitt or Rosalyn Tureck. I love their versions of Goldberg Variations too! Rosalyn Tureck spent her entire career of about 60 years studying Bach, and recorded Goldberg Variations at least three times. All are excellent. Angela Hewitt is just masterful, and plays with sheer devotion.
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