Goldberg Variations

RE: Goldberg Variations, posted on March 24, 2017 at 19:51:21
merlinus Audiophile Posts: 244 Location: Northern New Mexico Joined: June 24, 2008	The last recording of the variations by Glenn Gould (circa 1981).

RE: Goldberg Variations, posted on March 24, 2017 at 19:53:07
pbarach Audiophile Posts: 3307 Location: Ohio Joined: June 22, 2008	Perahia for Piano, Robert Hill for harpsichord.

How About Weissenberg's?, posted on March 24, 2017 at 19:54:56
Newey Audiophile Posts: 537 Location: Chicago Joined: December 26, 2012	Played on a real piano [for a change]. Severius! Supremus Invictus

Either of the Gould's and Hantai's, posted on March 24, 2017 at 20:02:29

jdaniel@jps.net

.

Hantai

my No.1 pick Kempff..., posted on March 24, 2017 at 20:44:13
kuma Audiophile Posts: 10273 Location: IN Joined: July 8, 2001	Only Kempff would get away with doing his own improve by skipping the trills playing it straight up. :) Frank and natural, there is a certain ease, almost Gulda like sense of casualness. His style provokes a jazz piano player more than classically trained one. ( Ironically much better spirited than Jarret's stiff cembalo Goldberg ) Certainly more relaxed and less uptight and much freer than most.

+1 NT, posted on March 24, 2017 at 22:21:44
ahendler Audiophile Posts: 5151 Location: San Antonio, Texas Joined: January 24, 2003	.

RE: Goldberg Variations, posted on March 24, 2017 at 23:08:17
jazz1 Audiophile Posts: 2891 Joined: October 30, 2000	My new favorite is Beatrice Rana interpretation, it is just so right. Sure I still like Gould 1981 version and Koopman on the harpsichord. When I listen to Beatrice new version I feel obliged to listen to the complete work, it is just so good. BTW it is available on Tidal, so check it out!!

I used to have that recording a long time ago, and I remember his removing some of the ornaments! [nt] ;-), posted on March 25, 2017 at 00:29:06
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26477 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012

Lots o' good ones, but I still like Ekaterina Dershavina's performance the best, posted on March 25, 2017 at 00:47:28

Chris from Lafayette
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Gosh - She may have more CD's than I do!

I've lived with her recording for about 20 years now and it has really stood the test of time for me. Sure, I like both the Gould studio performances too (and I like that Yamaha piano he used on the later one), and the Perahia performance certainly has to be one of the best things he's ever done on recording. And the Weissenberg EMI recording is certainly interesting at the very least. Garrick Ohlsson's performance is VERY fine (and it's one that probably gets overlooked). I still like Dershavina best of all.

RE: Lots o' good ones, but I still like Ekaterina Dershavina's performance the best, posted on March 25, 2017 at 04:18:41
pbarach Audiophile Posts: 3307 Location: Ohio Joined: June 22, 2008	I like Dershavina's, too. I wish she would make more recordings. Her Haydn sonatas aren't as good as the Goldbergs, though.

Seems to be out of print, posted on March 25, 2017 at 08:04:47
jimbill Audiophile Posts: 3050 Location: Texas Joined: May 31, 2004	only used on Amazon, and $38 at that.

There's an earlier CD incarnation available (actually the one I have), posted on March 25, 2017 at 09:05:02
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26477 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	Still starting at $18 used though. It's also available as a download at Presto Classical in the UK - but unfortunately not for US customers! The transliteration of her last name sometimes appears as Derzhavina rather than Dershavina (if you were thinking of searching on other sites).

That one is up for streaming on QOBUZ..., posted on March 25, 2017 at 09:24:54
Ivan303 Audiophile Posts: 48887 Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM Joined: February 26, 2001	But not TIDAL. Haydn and Bach French Suites are on Spotify. First they came for the dumb-asses And I did not speak out Because I was not a dumb-ass

I only heard her Haydn Sonatas on Spotify a couple of years ago, posted on March 25, 2017 at 09:29:06

Chris from Lafayette
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I have her Bach French Suites (which I like a lot!) and Medtner albums. It looks as if she just released a new album earlier this month - of Stanchinsky's piano music. I saw it on the Presto Classical and Amazon UK sites, not the Amazon US site - it may also be available on the Target (!) site, although the album cover doesn't show up in that listing.

If you like Scriabin's music, you'll love Stanchinsky's. His very small output may have had something to do with the fact that he was subject to delusions. (And, yes, some of his music can sound every bit as creepy as some of Scriabin's!) He was found dead at the age of 26 after he had gone on a walk - possible suicide, although no one knows for sure.

Dang! I totally agree with you again!, posted on March 25, 2017 at 09:34:23

rbolaw

In particular, Pierre Hantai's first traversal, which you picture, is one of the best examples of recorded harpsichord sound I've ever heard. We might soften the hearts of the anti-HIP crowd if all harpsichord recordings were that good.
I'm in what is probably a small minority of those who prefer Glenn Gould's second take to his first.
For another surprisingly compelling piano version, check out Kimiko Ishizaka. Her 24/96 download was available for free, don't know if it still is, but her prices are low.

Thanks for the heads up about Ishizaka, posted on March 25, 2017 at 09:55:48
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26477 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	I listened to a couple of sample tracks and they do sound promising and well recorded.

My favorite: "recreation" of the 1955, posted on March 25, 2017 at 11:31:05
Bill Way Audiophile Posts: 1884 Location: Toms River NJ Joined: May 28, 2012 Contributor Since: December 14, 2012	Recorded in 2006 by Zenph/Sony, with a Yamaha concert grand and their hardware/software playing a recreation based on the 1955 tapes. WW "Put on your high heeled sneakers. Baby, we''re goin'' out tonight.

I'm with you, Bill - I like it too - Don't they call it a "re-performance"? [nt] ;-), posted on March 25, 2017 at 11:42:20
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26477 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012

Bruno Canino... but, posted on March 25, 2017 at 14:42:11
classfolkphile Audiophile Posts: 533 Location: Florida Joined: December 17, 2002	only one? Not possible. Ton Koopman on harpsichord. A few here I haven't heard; will have to follow up on them.

RE: I'm with you, Bill - I like it too - Don't they call it a "re-performance"? [nt] ;-), posted on March 25, 2017 at 16:50:34

pbarach
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They do call it that, but I don't like it. I think it misrepresents Gould's intentions because the sound of the Yamaha piano and the more generous acoustic in which the "re-performance" was recorded are quite different than the 1955 Gould original.

Also, I have some suspicions that "reperformance" wasn't as faithful as it was billed. On the Rachmaninoff Zenph "reperformance," a lot of rhythmic subtlety that you hear on those scratchy 78s is gone.

For performance on piano, posted on March 25, 2017 at 16:51:40
TGR Audiophile Posts: 3002 Location: No. California Joined: March 22, 2004	And if you listen to CDs, I would get "A State of Wonder", which includes both of Gould's recordings, and an interesting interview with Gould.

That's a terric sounding CD..., posted on March 25, 2017 at 17:27:36
kuma Audiophile Posts: 10273 Location: IN Joined: July 8, 2001	Sounding far better than the original digital LP release. Even better is the recent analogue master reissue from Analog Spark a few years back taking the same analogue tape and finally releasing it in a proper format. :)

Rosalyn Tureck nt, posted on March 25, 2017 at 17:43:09
briggs Audiophile Posts: 1674 Location: Connecticut Joined: April 16, 2002	nt

Well. . . we've had this discussion before, posted on March 25, 2017 at 19:20:00

Chris from Lafayette
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I hear so much MORE in the Zenph re-performances in terms of color and escape from the 1955 technical limitations that it perhaps deafens me to whatever rhythmic subtlety (if any!) might be lost. ;-)

Also, I don't believe that all the aspects of the 1955 recording are necessarily representative of Gould's intentions. Sure, the original recording is close and dry, but so are a lot of other Columbia piano recordings from the early to mid fifties. This was Gould's first commercial recording - who says he had the level of control over the recording environment which he had later, once he'd become a superstar? Maybe he just took what he got in this instance. In addition, when the '55 performance was re-issued on the first CD reissue, with its "super bit mapping", I was surprised by how much more I could hear the studio reverberation, compared to the original LP, where it was somewhat buried in surface noise and tape hiss.

I have the analog LP too, posted on March 26, 2017 at 12:20:10
TGR Audiophile Posts: 3002 Location: No. California Joined: March 22, 2004	My intro to Gould's way (really ways) with the Goldbergs was with this CD set, but I bought the analog LP when it was released. I prefer the 81 performance over the more famous 55 - feels more "baroque" to me.

Agree on Gould for piano but I prefer Frisch for harpsichord (nt), posted on March 26, 2017 at 17:33:55
13th Duke of Wymbourne Audiophile Posts: 2800 Location: Orange Co., Ca Joined: September 19, 2001	nt

I can't disagree with the 13th Duke. : ) Will check it out. nt, posted on March 26, 2017 at 17:47:00
jdaniel@jps.net	.

The original '81 LP release..., posted on March 26, 2017 at 21:16:18

kuma
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Sony used the digital tape to make the master. Digital technology was so new at that time, Sony ran both the digital and analogue tape * just in case* at the time of recording.
The State of Wonder CD was made with the original *analogue* master. Not the digital.
The recent reissue by Analogue Spark used the same analogue tape to make the record.

Oddly the worst sounding out of all three are the original vinyl release with digital tape as a master. I also have the Legacy series box set (digital version ) and they don't sound as good as either the analogue sourced State of the Wonder CD or Analogue Spark reissue.

btw, I agree with you. I also prefer his later '81 set.

Tough question..., posted on April 1, 2017 at 13:03:21

Kas
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I'd probably choose Sergei Schepkin's remake, if you can find it. If not, Dershavina or Koroliov.

Sergei Schepkin's Goldberg Variations

RE: How About Weissenberg's?, posted on April 1, 2017 at 13:06:45

Kas
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There are actually two Weissenberg recordings. One of them has had umpteen different issues on CD, but the one I prefer is coupled with his complete recording of the Partitas, linked below.

I like both, although neither would be my first choice - a little too percussive and often a bit rushed and rough around the edges.

https://www.amazon.com/Alexis-Weissenberg-plays-Bach-Variati

Didn't Know All Of That, posted on April 1, 2017 at 15:24:27
Newey Audiophile Posts: 537 Location: Chicago Joined: December 26, 2012	I actually hate the Baroque. But, I've made myself listen to this, and a bit of other Bach. Thanks. Severius! Supremus Invictus

Music Lane

Goldberg Variations

184.7.81.34