Bach: Goldberg Variations (Transcription for Strings)

Johann Sebastian Bach (Artist), Dmitry Sitkovetsky (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 16, 1995)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005J2R
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,683 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #100 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Variations

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bach's universality, January 27, 2001

By 

"danielinyaracuy" (San Felipe, Yaracuy Venezuela) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bach: Goldberg Variations (Transcription for Strings) (Audio CD)

It is always a wonder to observe how so many of J.S. Bach's works weather the transformations that people subject them to. And to see that a sacred cow such as the Goldberg Variations can shine as a novel brilliant masterpiece when it is "transposed" from the keyboard to a string orchestra is just simply astounding. Makes you wonder whether Bach was more of a musical genius than what you already knew... At any rate, we have here an inspired adaptation, a spirited and deep performance, a perfectly recorded CD. What else can I say to convince you to get it?

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Way to Hear the Goldberg Variations, January 26, 2000

By 

Gordon L. Struble (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bach: Goldberg Variations (Transcription for Strings) (Audio CD)

I generally don't like transcriptions, but this is the exception! My wife brought it home from the public library; and on coming home from work, I heard it playing. What a surprise:wonderful music (of course), an excellent chamber orchestra, and a technically perfect recording. I have never heard the counterpoint so clearly articulated. It is a must have for my collection.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, April 13, 2004

By 

Michael Newman (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bach: Goldberg Variations (Transcription for Strings) (Audio CD)

This is one of the most -- if not THE most -- beautiful transcriptions of any work of Bach. Sitkovetsky has turned the Goldberg Variations into a tone poem. At the same time, the instrumentation (string orchestra) does not have the heavy, anachronistic, 20th Century sound that Stokowski's (and other) transcriptions have. Indeed, transforming this piece from keyboard to string orchestra has the effect of clarifying and purifying the piece; every line of counterpoint is audible. For those who love Bach, this is a must. For those who do not love Bach -- you will after you've heard this recording.