Customer Reviews

Bach: Goldberg Variations

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Simone Dinnerstein, a Juilliard graduate that studied with Peter Serkin, has been hailed widely for outstanding techinque, warmth and fluidity in her playing. She was subject of a Harris Goldsmith feature in American Record Guide and has been compared to a young Argerich. She plays widely around New York and elsewhere on the East Coast and scheduled her London debut this year.

Her Goldberg variations are beautifully done and exceptionally thoughtful, there is no question about that. She plays with authority and technique second to none. Eschewing the staccato affect of Glenn Gould, her style is far more akin to Murray Perhaih and others that seek more transluscent legato.

This is not to say she cannot pound the keyboard, engage staccato, or turn a phrase with the best of them -- listen to Variation 16 for that. Compared to the last recording of the Goldbergs I heard, by Perhaia, hers is warmer, more humane and perhaps less driven. But she is not afraid to change course in mid-stream -- listen to her abrupt tempo change in Variation 19 and the hop to return to rapidity in Variation 20.

Certainly this is outstanding pianism captured in an elegant sound field and presented for the listener is a 5 X 5 X 5 setting that is up to current DDD standards. I'd like to hear more of the train of thought or stream of consciousness cerebral approach I've heard in Bach from Richter and Elena Kuschnerova but I wouldn't suggest this is a bad performance lacking those qualities. For me, it's not the pinnacle; still, it's a beautifully retouched scan of Bach's masterpiece delivered on a 1903 instrument that sounds like it was made yesterday.

Given the publicity surrounding this disc's performer, Oprah's recommendation of it, and its subsequent, unsurprising debut at the top of Billboard's classical chart, a review of "just the music" here seems doomed amidst the deluge of journalistic praise. Nevertheless, if someone wants to buy this disc because pundits say it's great, why not, so long as those buyers are also aware that--despite what the pundits say--this is by no means the definitive or the only recording of the Variations to have. In fact, one should get as many as possible, on piano and harpsichord preferably; however, there are three main reasons why this is not the disc to start one's experience of the Goldberg Variations with.

My preference in a review is to emphasize the positives of a recording. For this one, first, the piano generally has a nice sound, and is pleasantly recorded at least most of the time (other, more audiophilic reviewers, note actually the very unsettling recording quality of this disc--I don't get that on my comparatively cheap equipment, but it's worth noting that some people report this being a badly engineered disc). As such, this recording works well as background music. Listened to too closely, or listened to for the arc of the music from its opening aria back to the aria again, then the music continuously breaks down in various ways. This is because, whatever claims may be made for Dinnerstein's technique, it seems either ill-suited to this music, strives too often to be too "delicate" in a work that has many more moods than merely delicate, or because of lapses in technique or judgment or both. It may also be this blanket "delicateness" that results in the frequently excessively slow tempos; all the more so, when Dinnerstein plays nearly every repeat with little to no variation.

With the opening aria, at 5'39 seconds, it is probably not the slowest ever, but nevertheless manages to come off with such a plodding lack of energy that it easily seems twice as long. The contrast that Variation 1 provides for the Aria is world-famous, and an unfortunately welcome relief after the aria in the present case; nevertheless, in Variation 2 and Variation 3 the tempo is so unremitting that they actually seem to run together. The same happens again from Variation 6 to 7. Though comparisons with other recordings are usually facile, nevertheless, switching to one of Nikolaeva's renditions of the Aria and first two variations immediately discloses how thick-fingered Dinnerstein's delivery is.

Is this simply an over-refined persnicketiness on the part of someone too accustomed to his favorite version of the Goldberg Variations? No, since people of all levels of musical sensibility can hear and feel the energy of a committed reading of these pieces, especially when one listens closely. Compare, for instance, how the notes in the left hand right at the very beginning of the opening Aria are nicely "drawn out" compared to being "pushed out" throughout Variation 2 and 3, and even more so in Variation 19. Such playing sometimes works (Variation 13), but much more often makes for a dragging, even muddy quality of the playing that is hard to miss.

In a variation where this works, such as Variation 13, there is indeed a delicacy, though even here the tempo is so belabored that delicacy starts to morph into dullness. And in fact, this over-application of delicacy may be the thing that makes it "safe" for an Oprah recommendation, while also completely missing the very varied number of moods in these pieces that are anything but delicate. Overall, there is a very narrow emotional range of playing here; as if there are only two states, "delicate" and "everything else".

With Variation 20, the disc finally seems to pop out of the largely unvarying musical attitude it has exhibited, if only because the variation in question particularly demands total change of mood. In the opening 15 seconds, there's a degree of the expected snappiness (notwithstanding one suspiciously sour, if not missed, note), but when the rushing triplets arrive, the various runs seem to run together (pun not intended) the first time through, and even more messily in the second half (despite some nice dynamics). It really sounds as if Dinnerstein's fingers are becoming fatigued by the final go round. One does not need to be a musicologist to hear this. The usual returns again with Variation 21, providing another drawn out reading that moves around like something that stops moving when you look at it. Equally so, Variation 22 starts off delicately and singingly enough, but morphs into something strident by the end.

Aspirations to delicacy or not, in Variation 23, the various 32nd note runs that are supposed to sparkle and punctuate either the right hand or the left (depending on which half of the piece is being performed) turn into oatmeal; particularly grotesque is the passage from both 58" to 1'16", and again at 1'27" with the repeat. With Variation 25, the flatness of delicacy has returned full-force. In Variation 26, the opening seems to hit what 23 missed, although the ornament that caps the long ascending rise the first time around (at 25 seconds) is so awkward that it might prompt an involuntary laugh, while the muddiness of the playing before the second repeat (and during the second repeat for that matter) is hard to take.

Again, this is not simply the griping of someone being overly fussy about the music. These are errors untutored ears can hear. Variation 27, for instance, is virtually unrecognizable in its woodenness (Feltsman and especially Canino stray in this direction as well) and length. 15 seconds into the piece, Dinnerstein seems to become lost in the contrapuntal motion, only then to reprise matters with more splotches of accompaniment. Variation 28, at least, keeps the trills fluttering, even when the chords in the left hand nearly march through with galoshes on. Variation 29, however, seems to become completely lost in itself; by this time, the recording quality also seems to have dropped off. I cannot think of a time when the impression created in me of a performance could be described as "incoherent," but it truly seems to be the case here.

Ultimately, whether one deems this disc too erratic or merely idiosyncratic, it still has a place in the catalog of recorded Variations. All the same, this should be the pinnacle neither for connoisseurs nor the unfamiliar alike. However, if this recording succeeds in sparking a listener's curiosity to hear the many other, far more insightful readings of these singularly amazing little masterpieces, then so much the better.

FOOTNOTE:

It is worth mentioning that one reviewer, John P. Boyce, writes that Bach himself would prefer this reading to all others. John P. Boyce (at the time of this review) has written only two reviews for Amazon, both of which are absolutely glowing 5-star reviews. (His second is for David L. Post's first novel.) Given that John P. Boyce may be the same person who commissioned David L. Post's "Variations and Fugue on a Bach-Busoni Chorale" for performance by Simone Dinnerstein herself (see [link removed by Amazon.com], for instance), the objectivity of his reviews may warrant being questioned.

I've heard and appreciated so many performances of the Goldbergs, from Landowska to Hantai, from Gould to Tipo and Schiff. One thing in common with all the really satisfying versions I know is a sense of journey and pacing, a sense that the artist knows where they are taking us. This is often felt at the arrival of Variation 25, an important signpost on the way "home." When set up effectively, it is a profound experience, the still heart of the piece. Simone Dinnerstein, however, has by this juncture allotted so much time to underdifferentiated meandering that the "black pearl" (as Landowska called it) feels like just another in a line of slow, melancholy pavanes. One hates to add more cynicism to this world, but the pretty face on the cover, along with the "inspiring" back-story, would seem to be what places this release in Oprah's Record club.

This is a Goldberg recording that's extremely delicate, beautiful & easy to absorb. While lacking the punctuated precision and crystal-clear clarity of Glenn Gould's 1981 recording, I find this recording a delight and not without the Gould influence. It may seem a bit unfair to compare Dinnerstein to Gould, but he is the still the benchmark and absolute master of Bach.
I applaud Simone Dinnerstein for recording the Goldberg Variations and highly recommend her interpretation for all to hear.

This recording is bound to polarize those who enjoy the 'Goldberg Variations'...after all if every other rendition engenders spirited pro- and con-, why shouldn't the latest contender? Simone Dinnerstein plays the work on a piano, and its sounds wonderful. I don't mind the harpsichord, but I prefer the newer instrument. Secondly she plays almost all the repeats, so this is a long recording. Finally, I really enjoy her interpretation, and don't feel inclined to 'slug it out' with those for whom Glenn Gould's version(s) are the touchstone(s), 1955 and/or 1981. I love the GG recordings and a few others as well. Ms Dinnerstein's entry into the catalog is a welcome addition. I bought this after reading a review on Salon or Slate (can't remember which of the two), and the reviewer who is seldom impressed with new recordings of the 'Goldbergs' thought this one is a keeper. I agree, and recommend you give it a try.

Simone Dinnerstein's disc of the Goldberg Variations is currently the 12th addition to my "accumulation" on CD of that work, ranging from cembalo versions by such distinguished performers as Koopman, Hantai, Leonhardt and Jarrett to piano versions by Perahia, Feltsman and Hewitt. Since 13 is supposed to be an unlucky number it may be the last - for a while, at least - and as such I have to say: what a way to end that particular part of my Bach collection!

Dinnerstein's interpretation is at the same time technically flawless and - what is more - emotionally all-encompassing to a degree I can barely remember having encountered before in more than 25 years as an aficionado of classical music. It will be a cold and snowy day in Hell before I give up my disc of Gould's 1982 recording, but while that interpretation sets a standard of its own I always felt a slightly more romantic aproach to this timeless piece might do wonders; and how happy I am to at last find the pianist to provide the perfect balanced example. In many reviews Dinnerstein's playing is primarily compared to Perahia, whom - as a Mozart performer par excelence - I percieve as more classicistic (i.e. light-footed, elegant) to the touch. To my ear there is a clearer line to Dinnerstein's late great compatriot Rosalyn Tureck (1913-2003), who in her best live performances achieved an unequalled meditative quality in the slower variations. Like Tureck Dinnerstein also prefers to play all of the repetitions, and while this practice makes the variations a very long piece indeed, it will work wonders when you succeed in turning every repeat into an elaboration, as is the case with this recording. Though the Aria da Capo is technically supposed to be played more or less exactly like the opening Aria, this way of doing things always leaves me unsatisfied (shame on you András Schiff!). Something should have - must have - happened after all the bloody battles and tearful reconciliations of these 80 tumultuous minutes of music. Gould provides a very beautiful answer to this problem, but his transfigured, weary-of-life Aria da Capo allows for no interpretation but that this is unquestionably the end (maybe of all things), whereas Dinnerstein miraculously manages to make this solemn conclusion sound like a possible new beginning. To think that this cataclysmic work is still believed by some to have been composed as a lullaby for an insomniac count! Fiddlesticks, Mr. Johann Nikolaus Forkel - as Montgomery Burns would have said, and do stop rotating in your heaven J. S. Bach.

I could drone on for hours praising the merits of this outstanding recording, but fortunately others have already said most of what so richly deserves to be said. While I may not want to take my argument to the extreme of claiming this the only recording of this - the ultimate keyboard work of all times - you will ever need to hear, it certainly ticks more boxes on the score card than almost any other recording it has been my pleasure/duty to peruse. The level of introspection and athmospheric tension simply defies belief! Put this CD in your player and take in the 5 minutes 40 seconds of the first Aria; if you are not hooked by then you have the least curruptible personality in existence. Run for Pope!

More than warmly recommended, needless to say.

Amazon editorial review Thomas May starts out, "This is destined to be one of the best-remembered and significant classical releases of 2007," and then goes on to say, "Within a classical-music circuit increasingly unwilling to take artistic risks, hers has been the rare success story." How is releasing yet another recording of the Goldberg Variations taking an artistic risk? And why is this timid recording destined to be one of the best-remembered and significant classical releases? What's significant about another clone playing bland Bach? Dinnerstein has no personality whatsoever, and in a blindfold test, without the hype of marketing, I doubt the people praising this recording could distinguish her from any university clone. In some of the variations she even sounds a little over her head: in #5 she sounds tentative in a few spots--listen to her right hand lose the rhythm momentarily and then quickly recover at 43 seconds in. It's not an exprssive technique either because in the recap at 1:04 she pulls it off correctly. The "Black Pearl" variation that May is so taken with is to me very ordinary. I agree with reviewer Bill in Eastern Massachusetts, who says there's insufficient differentiation among the variations. They are all very middle-of-the-road in terms of tempo, accent, etc.. Her touch is uniform throughout. Despite what May says, there's no "cumulative effect" at the end. I put this on in the car without a word to my wife and after a while she said, "This would make good brunch music." It would. I'd play this when my inlaws came over. There are no emotional highs and emotional lows; you can talk through it and not feel like you're missing anything. Most astonishingly, Ms. Dinnerstein says she normally plays *all* the repeats, making her performance clock in at close to 90 minutes (too long for disc). The mind boggles. At 78 minutes, this disc felt like six hours. I've sat through shorter Wagner operas.

I can only guess this is getting unusual attention (for a classical CD) because it was recommended by the reigning queen of middle-class taste, Oprah. I would recommend Rosalyn Tureck, Andrei Gavrilov, Gould in any of his recordings, and especially the brilliant though eccentric (in a good way mostly) Maria Yudina, who doesn't merely play these pieces but brings them, and Bach, to life. Dinnerstein's is a student performance completely lacking in maturity and richness by comparison. But she's cute, and that's what counts today.

Simone Dinnerstein is a young pianist who has released for her initial commercial recording one of the touchstones of the pianistic canon. Upon first listening to this recording, I was immediately struck by the gentleness of her playing, particularly in the opening Aria. I simply have never heard this music played so "femininely."

At first I was hesitant to utter, much less put in writing, such an opinion. I don't want to be dismissed as a male chauvinist. Still, after listening to this recording many times, I do find that it does seem to exude something of a feminine aura--but that is not a bad thing by any means. The music is presented somewhat smoothly and lyrically; however, that does not mean that the performance is without dynamics and vitality. There is great beauty in Dinnerstein's rendition, which I have found myself returning to often over the past couple of months. The Goldberg Variations is one of those musical compositions that truly seem eternal, something that has existed since the beginning of time and will endure forever. Dinnerstein captures something of that eternal essence in her thoughtful and committed performance.

Although in the final analysis I still prefer Gould's more energetic touch, I enjoy Dinnerstein's version, which is quite compelling, and I plan to keep it in my collection. If you are a fan of the Goldbergs on piano, this really is a CD that you ought to audition.

I bought it and was disappointed. Dinnerstein's "Goldberg" never came to life for me. It seemed slow, lethargic and dull. Obviously it's a matter of personal taste. And no, I don't like Gould's hyper approach with all of the extraneous background humming and singing. How about Peraiha? That's the one for me.

Fortunately for Dinnerstein, she looks nice and she got the attention of Oprah. My own preference is still for the hunched-over Gould in his sawed-off chair. Allow me, therefore, to venture a short, apocryphal comparison with the master.
Dinnerstein's use of the pedal is distracting and renders mushy the contrapuntal, percussive thrust of the piece. Bach was primarily a composer of choral works, and the Goldberg Variations are choral, too, in the sense that they counterpose two very distinct voices in a complex duet. Dinnerstein seems oddly unaware of the masterful beauty of this conversational, sometimes acrimonious and boisterous interplay, in contrast to Gould, who possessed two minds (and probably more), each pursuing its own path, sometimes in harmony, sometimes disharmoniously, with the other.
Some of Dinnerstein's interprations are simply strange. Variation 28 sounds like dinner music, no pun intended, or a starry bedtime meddly for infants. Such airiness may not be such a bad thing if one takes as true the legend that Bach wrote the Variations as a cure for an aristocrat's insomnia (the account is doubtful, in any case).
And what's happening in Variation 26? The right hand glistens along at great haste but with no character, while the left hand simply mumbles. Here, Gould brought in a regal, march-like antidote to the hyperventilation in the other hand.
Enough said. I wish I could return this CD.