BaL 18.02.12 - Bach Goldberg Variations

[Bryn]

No, no, Gordon, they were not all "verbatim". It took some detective work by Pristine Audio to reverse engineer the modifications. Regarding the Egarr, it does not sound to me to be the same tuning system he used for the 48. Mind you, do the squiggles not apply solely to Book 1? Bach may well have changed his mind about the tuning regime by the time he got round to Book 2, but Egarr sticks to the Bradley Lehman tuning.

[MickyD]

Let's not forget Kenneth Gilbert and Christophe Rousset's fine performances on harpsichord.

[doversoul1]

Only 20 minutes but Andrew has a few new releases at 11.25 on today’s CD Review.

BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Steven Devine (harpsichord)
Chandos Records CHAN0780

BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV988
Nicholas Angelich (piano)
Virgin Classics 50999 07066 429

BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV988
Nick Van Bloss (piano)
Nimbus NI6136

BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV988, Minuet in G major, BWV Anh. 114, Chorale Prelude BWV691 'Wer nun den lieben Gott lässt walten', March in D major, BWV Anh. 122, Prelude in C (from the Well-Tempered Clavier BWV846),
Andrea Bacchetti (piano)
Dynamic CDS 659

[Richard Tarleton]

Only 20 minutes but Andrew has a few new releases at 11.25 on today’s CD Review.

BACH: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Steven Devine (harpsichord)
Chandos Records CHAN0780

I enjoyed this review spot - three problematic piano versions and an agreeable harpsichord one but Andrew's observations were good value.

I got to know the Goldberg through Andras Schiff's first version and then bought Angela Hewitt's. I've heard it performed by Hewitt - her Var 25 brought tears to my eyes - and by a harpsichordist whose name I forget. Recently I bought a harpsichord version on ZUM CD0720 at a Red Priest concert by their new harpsichordist David Wright - a revelation after all those piano versions. He plays all the repeats where there are second time bars. Can't say how it compares with others but I've played it several times.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

BaL 18.02.12 Bach's Goldberg Variations

9.30 Building a Library: Nicholas Kenyon with a personal recommendation from recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations

Available versions:

Hansjorg Albrecht [O]
Nicholas Angelich [P]
Bob van Asperen
Christine Auger
Andrea Bacchetti [P]
Elena Barshai [O]
Luc Beauséjour [H]
Nick Van Bloss [P]
Fabio Bonizzoni [H]
Terence Charlston [H]
Pi-Hsien Chen [P]
Mia Chung [P]
Julia Cload [P]
Jill Crossland [P]
Steven Devine [H]
Simone Dinnerstein [P]
Pieter Dirksen [H & O]
Richard Egarr [H]
Vladimir Feltsman [P]
Céline Frisch [H]
James Friskin [P]
József Gát [H & C]
Glen Gould (multiple versions) [P]
Jean Guillou [O]
Alexander Gurning [P]
Matthew Halls [H]
Pierre Hantaï [H]
Angela Hewitt [P]
Irma Issakadze [P]
Jenö Jandó [P]
Ivo Janssen [P]
Keith Jarrett [H]
Hans Kann [P]
Wilhelm Kempff [P]
Ralph Kirkpatrick (H)
David Korevaar [P]
Evgeni Koroliov [P]
Bernard Lagacé [O]
Wanda Landowska [H]
Gustav Leonhardt [H]
Dong-Hyek Lim [P]
Joanna MacGregor [P]
Ingrid Marsoner [P]
Tatiana Nikolayeva [P]
Jacques Ogg [H]
Garrick Ohlsson [P]
Joseph Payne [H]
Frank Pelleg [H]
Murray Perahia [P]
Cédric Pescia [P]
Daniel-Ben Pienaar [P]
Chen Pi-hsien [P]
Trevor Pinnock [H]
Franns von Promnitzau [O]
Daniel Propper [P]
Blandine Rannou [H]
Gunther Rost [O]
Sergey Schepkin [P]
András Schiff - 2 versions [P]
Ragna Schirmer [K]
Martin Schmeding [O]
Christine Schornsheim [H]
Eulàlia Solé [P]
Juergen Sonnentheil [O]
Martin Stadtfeld
Andreas Staier [H]
Benjamin-Joseph Steens [C]
Masaaki Suzuki [H]
Claudius Tanski [P]
Käte van Tricht [O]
Rosalyn Tureck [P]
Dimitri Vassilakis
Pascal Vigneron
Jory Vinikour [H]
Stefan Vladir[P]
Kenneth Weiss [H]
Maria Yudina
Irina Zahharenkova [P]

Accordian
Teodoro Anzellotti
Denis Patkovic

version for 2 pianos by Rheinberger/Reger
Yaara Tal & Andreas Groethuysen (piano duo)

arranged for Trio and Electronics by Sitkovetsky -
Karlheinz Essl-Live Electronics & Orpheus Trio


for solo harp -
Catrin Finch (harp)
Sylvain Blassel

arranged for viols by Richard Boothby -
Fretwork

arranged for string trio by Dmitry Sitkovetsky -
Leopold String Trio
Swiss Chamber Soloists
Goldberg String Trio
Amati String Trio
Trio Zilliacus-Persson-Raitinen
Dimitry Sitkovetsky, Gérard Caussé, Mischa Maisky
Gaede Trio

Arranged for saxophones
Sax Allemande

arranged by Andrei Eshpai -
Homecoming Woodwind Ensemble

Other versions:
Jacques Loussier Trio
Silke Strauf & Claas Harders (viola da gamba)

[Bryn]

What, no P.J. Belder? Where would Brilliant Classics be without him?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

What, no P.J. Belder? Where would Brilliant Classics be without him?

Currently unavailable, it seems.

[Richard Tarleton]

As well as Schiff Mk 1 and Hewitt, I've got an excellent harpsichord version by David Wright, harpsichordist with Red Priest, on Zum records. I picked it up at the back of one of their concerts and love it, but it may now only be available as a download. I see he's touring it a lot. I love the Hewitt version, having heard her play it!

[doversoul1]

Trevor Pinnock: 1980 Archiv.

I remember this being played on Radio3 when it first came out. The announcer (I don’t think they were called presenters in those days) said ‘as it is too long for one of these programmes, it will be played over two days’ and so it was. It was a morning programme.

[antongould]

Surely it's 1981 versus 1955 and IMHO 1981 just shades it!!!

[cloughie]

Surely it's 1981 versus 1955 and IMHO 1981 just shades it!!!

Perhaps you need an each way bet on Uncle Glenn!

[subcontrabass]

Is it possible to have separate lists for versions played on harpsichord and versions played on piano? This would enable those with strong views on the matter to ignore versions played on the "wrong" instrument.

[silvestrione]

For me it's Celine Frisch or Pierre Hantai on harpsichord, and Rosalyn Tureck and Gould 81 ( Hewitt for a modern version) on piano. But I learnt it from Ralph Kirkpatrick on LP...superb in many ways, but no repeats and he uses some strange stops; he's not listed now, I see.

[antongould]

Perhaps you need an each way bet on Uncle Glenn!

Corals have Hewitt at 4/6 seems to be where the "wise money" is going Cloughie!

[amateur51]

Wot no Konstantin Lifschitz or Alexis Weissenberg, both on piano & both available via Amazon?

Lifschitz is a remarkable Bach pianist imho, having spent a couple of New year's Eves at Wigmore Hall as he played the 48. There's an excellent DVD of his performances of the 48