BaL 18.02.12 - Bach Goldberg Variations

[Nick Armstrong]

I love Schiff and Perahia (heard the latter live from close up - magical). And I love the Anzelotti accordeon version!!

[vinteuil]

And I love the Anzelotti accordeon version!!

... [thinks] "Should I put Caliban on 'ignore'?"
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[vinteuil]

recently I have been enjoying the Goldbergs in various guises -

Béatrice Martin, harpsichord
Andreas Staier, harpsichord
Gwendolyn Toth, lautenwerk
Danish Saxophone Quartet
Octuor de France

If it's a desert island choice, for me it has to be the harpsichord. But occasionally I allow my ears to be tickled by the sound of the piano. But - for me - not Angela Hewitt (in this or any Bach) - I find her too sterile.

[Nick Armstrong]

... [thinks] "Should I put Caliban on 'ignore'?"
.


.

Have you heard it?

It sounds like an organist of genius performing it in a little church in a village in Thuringia. It's delightful, I promise you!

[Nick Armstrong]

Danish Saxophone Quartet

So we each have our little flirtations with anachronistic esoterica, vinrouge!

(I agree with you about Angela Hewitt, too)

[vinteuil]

So we each have our little flirtations with anachronistic esoterica, vinrouge!

... indeed yes .

The Octuor de France is fun too - it's a Schubert-style set up: two violins, viola, cello, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, horn.

I also have a Sitkovetsky transcription, with Dmitry Sitkovetsky as first violin in the New European Strings Chamber orchestra - but I find the 'orchestral' take (with fifteen performers) less satisfactory.

[vinteuil]

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

Available versions:


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

... now that does sound interesting - I think I shall have to get a copy... Thanks, o Alpensinfonie, for leading us into temptation!

[BBMmk2]

Isn't the Canadian Brass version available?

I have Schiff to. I would like to hear Fretwork's, as well!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

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.

What? Room service as well?

[amateur51]

What? Room service as well?

[Richard Tarleton]

I agree with you about Angela Hewitt, too

I don't know -I heard Hewitt play the Goldberg up close - from a few feet away, in an intimate recital - I found myself deeply moved by her Var 25, to the point of tears, not a normal experience for me.

[Nick Armstrong]

I don't know -I heard Hewitt play the Goldberg up close - from a few feet away, in an intimate recital - I found myself deeply moved by her Var 25, to the point of tears, not a normal experience for me.

Great I've never heard her live, just speaking about the recordings I've heard.

Having heard Perahia at similarly close quarters, I know exactly what you mean.

I suspect the piece is capable of working its magic in such circumstances via all sorts of performances, in a way that is different from listening through speakers.

[vinteuil]

I've never heard her live, just speaking about the recordings I've heard.

... like Caliban, I've never heard her live. Various musical friends of mine like her work a lot; I have to say that for me her Bach is consistently neat, tidy, clean, correct, - but ultimately uninvolving; a bit too careful and governessy. For me she is somehow the Anita Brookner of performers...

[gurnemanz]

I have known the ever-present and justly praised Gould from LP days. More recently I decided to get a more modern non hum-along version and went for Hewitt on Hyperion (described above as "sterile") which I bought based on numerous positive reviews which suggested that it was anything but sterile. It has provided me with many hours of rewarding listening.

For a more thrilling ride, I would recommend Andrei Gavrilov on DG, available at a bargain price and not mentioned anywhere above:

http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product/CD/E4783383.htm

My harpsichord version is the 1978 Gustav Leonhardt version on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.

[ostuni]

If you want a thrilling ride, how about Alexis Weissenberg? And for a safe (but imaginative) pair of hands, I really like Perahia.

Vinteuil perfectly summed up my reactions to Hewitt... There's an intriguing blog entry by Damian Thompson on Gavrilov's and Hewett's Goldbergs - Battle of the Goldbergs: 'smug' Hewitt vs 'butterfingers' Gavrilov.