State of Wonder: Goldberg Vari

 

 

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When Sony bought Columbia, they began reissuing Glenn Gould albums, with new packaging and audio mastering. I think they realized early on that Gould fans are often merciless perfectionists, and vainly view their music collections more as "archives" than as "yonder pile," and hence have no tolerance for hack jobs. These are people, after all, who buy classical music for its own sake, and not as functional generic background music or "relaxation." Thus, there is a rigorous audio standard Sony tries to hold itself to, as well as to a historical standard.

STATE OF WONDER is probably the ultimate expression of this policy. It was simply a very good idea to devote a single package to these two recordings of the Goldberg Variations. The 1955 recording which was Gould's first album, and the 1981 recording, which was his last. The third CD consists of a fascinating and strange Canadian Broadcast Co. interview (Sony has also acquired basically any audio or visual recording of Gould) shortly before his 1981 death, as well as some outtakes from the 1955 sessions. The interview ranges all over, including a really weird parody of a non-existent English actor that you have to hear to believe. Gould and the interviewer discuss many of the variations in-depth; any Bach student will be interested in hearing it.

Gould was a ruthless critic of the '55 recording, as you'll hear in the interview, and the difference between the two recordings is IMMEDIATELY evident with his tempo in the Aria. In the '81 recording, he more violently plunges into the 1st Variation, which is startling, especially after the much slower tempo.

A brief essay from the interviewer is included in the booklet, as is Gould's perspicacious liner notes from the 1955. He talked the way he wrote, eloquently wrapped up in the precision of his art and not really giving a damn what anyone else thought. Also, a brief explication of the recording and remastering technology will be helpful to the tech-philes.

(Several years ago I bought Gould's recording of the Mozart sonatas, and totally regretted it. They're awful; played indifferently. So it was funny to hear in the interview Gould panning his own recording and laughingly talking about detesting Mozart.)

This is vital for any collector of Gould's work, and anyone who wants to hear the Goldberg Variations cannot possibly go wrong with Gould's work.

These two performances of the Goldberg Variations have been reissued so many times. But what makes this new reissue stand out is the bonus interview & outtakes of the 1955 recording sessions, plus all brand new remastered sound using Direct Stream Digital technology, with 2.83 MHz sampling frequency yielding high resolution results on standard CD.
I was a little hesitant to purchase this set at first because I already own both versions of these piece. But after I bought and listened to it, I must say I don't regret it at all.
In 1981, Gould recorded his latest thoughts on the Goldberg Variations. Some people expressed the opinion then that the digital Lp & CD sound was unkindly analytical, lacking timbre, causing the notes to appear disconnected from each other.
Twenty years have passed since Gould's untimely death and to honour him and set the record straight, Sony Music returned to the analogue master tapes made at the same session. In the early 1980's, digital technology was in its infancy and technically imperfect. By contrast, analog technology had reached its peak. As a precaution of early digital imperfection, what many recording companies did, including Sony Music, was running two recording medium simultaneously side-by-side at the recording session and mark analog version as "safety master" in case there's anything wrong with the digital masters. From the technical notes in the booklet of this CD set, when Sony gave the green light to this "State of wonder" project, Sony A&R, reissue producer and two sound engineers as well as a project adviser, Mr. Tim page, made a Digital vs. Analog comparison and they found that the analog safety master has much superior sound that no one had ever heard before. Then the vote was unanimous to reissue the 1981 version using the analog safety master, instead of digital, for the first time after 21 years it was recorded. This analog safety master was unedited, untouched, so they had to acquire the original score marked by Glenn Gould & original records producer, then they edited the tapes to exactly duplicate the sequences chosen for the original release by Glenn himself.
The difference of sound quality is not superficial. Even untrained ears can notice it. Now, there are the sonorities so painfully absent before, providing the necessary connection between the notes. This performance now sings. Well, so does Gould but that becomes an attraction, not a distraction.
The third disc had Gould chatting with Tim Page about the two recordings with illustrations. Also, the never before released 1955 outtakes of Goldbergs' session.
This package is no mere re-exploitation of existing recordings. It does honour to Glenn Gould.

picking between the two gould recordings of the goldberg variations is a duanting task.
finally his label had enough sense to package them together and the remastering is wonderfully done.
the earlier recording of course captures goulds youthful enthusiasm and the latter recording is the interpetation of a master. more expressive, more contemplative but just as willful, just as highly personal and just as delightfully eccentric.
for those who cant abide goulds 'too personailzed' bach i say,
come on lets be honest. do you really want to listen to 'authentic' bach playing while operating heavy machinery?
bach is far more intersting in the hands of artists like gould and stokowski.
interpetation is an art within itself and there are plenty of 'authentic' recordings of old st sebastien if you really want to listen to it.
gould was one of the genuine artists of the 20th century and the goldberg variations are his crowning testaments to his much missed artistry.

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5.0 out of 5 stars no words can do this justice, but...
I love both the 1955 and 1981 performances. This is a collection I will treasure for the rest of my life. The packaging (except for the flimsy cardboard) is incredible... Read more

Published on Jun 26 2004 by Tweeedly Eeeedly

5.0 out of 5 stars Astonishing performances
I have loved Gould's first recording of the Goldberg Variations for 30 years. I was delighted when the 81 re-recording came out. Read more

Published on Jun 22 2004 by R. Stephen Marshall

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful performance
This may be the best classical performance of the 20th century. I play this CD very often, and it was my intro to Bach's Goldberg Variations. Read more

Published on Jun 18 2004 by C. Gardner

5.0 out of 5 stars Reccomended
The more you listen to the Goldberg Variations, the more you will like them. Thats what makes these CD's so great, no matter how many times you listen to them, you will never get... Read more

Published on May 27 2004 by Billy

5.0 out of 5 stars Tureck, Perahia, and Gould
I would recommend three versions for Goldberg Variations. Tureck with the ultimate delicate elegance, Perahia for a smooth and pleasant work, and Gould's 1955 "sexy" originality... Read more

Published on May 6 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Superior
Forget witty titles for this review, as it does not need them: Simply put, The Goldberg Variations, as played by Glenn Gould, is one of the best musical sets that I have in... Read more

Published on Mar 24 2004 by L. Berk

5.0 out of 5 stars gLENN gOULD , THE ETERNAL WONDER KIND OF THE KEYBOARD
Gould give us what we should call his battlehorse: The Goldberg variations. I have got four versions (the two of this set) one fro,m Canada 1952 and another one from Salzburg... Read more

Published on Mar 23 2004 by Hiram Gomez Pardo

5.0 out of 5 stars Golden Goldberg, golden Gould.
It's a matter of preference as to which 20th-century pianist made the most persuasive case for playing Bach on the piano. Read more

Published on Mar 20 2004 by Miles D. Moore

1.0 out of 5 stars A minority view of this performance.
If the standard of playing Bach is to play like Glenn Gould, then
this is perfect Bach. Personally speaking, I dont know what the hubbub is all about. Read more

Published on Feb 25 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, but try the DVD also
The 1955 recoding included here has terrible sound quality, I thought -- but the new ADD 1981 version is superb in all respects (they chose a back-up analog recording over the... Read more

Published on July 10 2003 by Kilchomin

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