Customer Reviews

Bach: The Goldberg Variations

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The disc pairs the Goldberg Variations with the F-Sharp toccata and two ricercares from the Musical Offering. Predictably of Rangell, the Variations are among the most original and subtly shaded of any outside the Tureck-Gould tradition.

As for the toccata and the ricercares, I haven't been so taken aback by a Bach performance since the days I was discovering Glenn Gould's recordings and later the Richter WTC. If only this major musical voice would take on the Art of Fugue to whose demands he's so uniquely matched.

Usually when I write a review about a recording of the Goldberg Variations (one of the greatest compositions by Bach), there's usually something of a blow by blow for each variation.

But, for one, Rangell is such a solid performer it would make the review too long to focus on all of the good stuff. This is a performance with personality, good sense, creativity, and lots of good technique. The tempos tend in the direction of Gould (i.e., fast), and Rangell certainly makes it seem like the music likes it that way. The famous black pearl variation (no. 25, which has a recording by another performer that lasts 11 minutes) is here 4'09".

One of the specific traits of this recording is the generous smattering of seemingly extra ornaments. They add snap and propulsion to the pieces, which never sound rushed. And one advantage of not playing the repeats, this leaves Rangell enough space on the disc to play Bach's Toccata in F-Sharp Minor plus the two ricercares from A Musical Offering, all three of which are treats in and of themselves.

Now, having said this, I have to add that that I don't get a whole lot of anything new from this performance. It's rock solid all the way around, and an excellent introduction if you have not heard these Variations before. In other words, I've owned this for a while and I don't feel that urge to pull it off the shelf like I go Tipo or Gavrilov. Again, that's really hardly a criticism. This disc is a fine piece of Bach's finest, plus three extra pieces.

If you have heard about the Goldberg Variations and are wondering what all the fuss is about, this can answer that question. Others may want to steer you toward Gould's historic recording from 1955, but there are some peculiarities about that that can be off-putting. (Gould hums along with himself, and the piano quality is not as rich as here.) Similarly, Tipo and Gavrilov play with the pieces in brilliant ways that are variations on the variations. This gives you a chance to hear them straight no chaser, as it were, though this is not to suggest that Rangell has not left his own stamp on these pieces. There is simply less density of performance, so that one can see (and hear) the pieces more immediately.

In an era where there seem to be ever slower versions of the Variations, maybe because fast versions are too hard to play, this wonderful, tasteful blaze fest is a nice reminder what these pieces sound like played up-tempo.