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Glenn Gould: A State of Wonder - The Complete Goldberg Variations
from: Sony Classical

Off The Bookshelf's Price: £11.49

Prices subject to change.

Used Price: £5.99
Third Party New Price: £8.54

Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 5099708770327
Format: Import, Box set
Label: Sony Classical
Manufacturer: Sony Classical
Number Of Discs: 3
Publisher: Sony Classical
Release Date: September 09, 2002
Studio: Sony Classical
Sales Rank: 8399

Disc 1:

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Bach: Two- and Three-Part Inventions (The Glenn Gould Edition)

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Gould's "Goldberg Variations"
Glenn Gould plays the music beatifully on both recordings. He plays more slowly and smoothly in the 1981 recording than in the 1955 recording. The 1955 recording is really exciting and the 1981 recording is so elegant. The 1955 recording is dramatic and so fast that it lasts for half an hour. The 1981 recording is extremely slow that it last for an hour.

Rating:

- That nut's a genius!
Vladimir Horowitz is reported to have said, on seeing Gould in concert, "That nut's a genius!" nicely capturing his eccentricity as well as his talent. I'm no expert, but what I love about Gould is that he makes the music intelligible. Listening to other pianists play Bach often just sounds, to me at least, like people twiddling their fingers up and down the keyboard playing complicated scales. Gould's phrasing has the quality of language. The interesting aspect of this collection is how he disagrees with the earlier recording - or the earlier version of himself that made that recording. Both are astonishing and luminous. The bonus disc interview is illuminating if you ignore the excruciating "skits" Gould performs for it. That he died a few ... Read More:

Rating:

- Listened 1,000 times....
Glenn Gould was raised by his aunt who once, when asked if he had been a naughty child how she had punished him replied, "Glenn was a good little boy, but if I ever needed to correct his behaviour on anything all I had to do was threaten to not let him play the piano..."

Gould may not have played the 'purest' Bach, but he has certainly discovered the sweet narrative in 'Goldberg Variations'. Comparing this to his earlier recording we now find a self-referential quality that is far more profound and assured. This is a piece that is not just played but 'told', it expresses his life, Bach's life and everyman's life.

Rating:

- priceless
The first reviewer is mixed up about about the 1981 recordings. The disc we came to know as Gould's remake of the Goldbergs was recorded in digital AND as a backup, in analogue.

What we have in this release is a newly remixed account taken from the analogue backup tapes presumably using the same takes as the digital CBC Album (released Autumn 1982 just before his death). So the new release of the 1981 sessions is the same as the old DDD release except different master tapes were used.

The set is worth it for the priceless interview and out-takes with Gould improvising a quodlibet on God Save the Queen & God Bless America.

Rating:

- A fusing of musical souls
Whether you fell in love with Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations years ago or have yet to discover them, this new Sony 3-disc digipack set is an absolute treat. It’s all here. First, the 1955 recording (38’ 26”) superbly remastered. As Tim Page says in his direct, illuminative introductory notes , “Gould’s Bach swung like made. It was urgent, vibrant, strutting and downright sexy.”

Next, the 1981 analogue re-recording (at 51’ 14” significantly slower, differently expressed and incorporating selected repeats). This compares favourably with the digital version released in 1982, days before Gould’s tragically early death. It is sonically fuller, though the ambience seems to temper the characteristic ‘attack’ ... Read More:

Music : Glenn Gould: A State of Wonder - The Complete Goldberg Variations