Bach - Goldberg Variations; Das wohltemperirte Clavier, Book 2 – Nos 33 & 38

Glenn Gould pf

Sony Classical mono SMK52594 Buy now

(46’ · ADD) 


Recorded 1955.

Gould’s pianistic skills have been universally and freely acknowledged, but his musical vision has elicited a range of critical response that has few parallels. The view that Bach was a mere mathematical genius and little more has long passed, but it has its echoes in Gould’s approach; he was fascinated by the structure of the music and was supremely skilful in showing the Jacquard-loom patterns woven by its contrapuntal threads. Every structural detail is exposed with crystal clarity, but, switching metaphors, what’s revealed is a marvellously designed and executed building, inhabited only by a caretaker. An overall time of 38 minutes doesn’t seem unreasonable for the Goldberg Variations (here shorn of every repeat) but the statistic is misleading: many variations pass at breakneck speeds. As an exposition of the music’s mechanism this is a remarkable performance but, despite occasional intrusions of sing-along and sparing use of the pedals (music first, pianism second), it says little of Bach’s humanity.

Two Fugues from the ’48’ extend the playing time to the lower limit of respectability. Neither is hurried and No 33 proceeds with the solemnity that some others perceived to be its due. The sound quality of the recordings is impressive, but overall this is probably of archival rather than definitive interest.