Customer Reviews

Bach: Partitas Nos. 1, 3 & 6

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed the understated, slightly rough-hewn elegance of Goode's set of Beethoven sonatas, and figured his Bach would be worth a go. It has all of the qualities I appreciated in his Beethoven playing: no fuss, no muss; perhaps more head than heart, but certainly not imposing or dry; and, above all, a willingness to let the music speak for itself. Sometimes it seems a bit lacking in dynamics, but I would much prefer this to turning Bach into churning melodrama, as some pianists are wont to do. The recorded sound seems slightly on the dry side, but perfectly listenable.

This is as good as Bach gets on the piano, and it's very good indeed. I also bought Volume One based on this, and it's just as satisfying -- these are now my preferred listening for the Partitas on piano. To get the best set on harpsichord, try Trevor Pinnock's recent recording, which I found to be an equally pleasing performance.

These performances are simultaneously sensitive, playful, thoughtful, and dynamic. They are not mannered, but they are never dull, and they can be listened to endlessly.

This is a fine CD of Bach's partitas 1, 3 and 6; the music itself, the performance, and the sound-quality of the recording are just fine. However, on each of those considerations, I strongly prefer Goode's other, earlier recording of Bach's partitas 2, 4 and 5--I like the music much better, and the recording gives the piano a nice, warm sound that I found more enjoyable. While both CDs are worth having, the CD of partitas 2, 4 and 5 is one of the most enjoyable and best-sounding piano recordings I've ever heard.

If you know Richard Goode, you know his impeccable intellectual integrity based on deep exploration of the ideas behind his chosen music. Richard's open heart, curiosity, kind acceptance of the world, and generosity of spirit grant him a rare ability to penetrate immediately to the hearts of other people--or music. His rare balance of mind and spirit may help explain his world-scale success. But his world-conquering spirit was always there in his person. When we studied Chinese together in the early 1970's (when China was still closed to outsiders), he expected to tour one day in China. More than most students, he sought to understand the character of Chinese thought embedded in the language. Similarly, his deep understanding of the classical view of life was never more clear than in his insightful performance of a Stravinsky piano sonata: The delicacy and symmetric structures of Mozart were transparent behind the playful modernisms. I'm almost sorry he has become especially famous for his interpretations of Bach. I admire deeply his profound and yet slightly aloof interpretation of Partita 6--as though Bach were playing the piano. Still, I believe he's at his most profound on the cusp of Romanticism. Late Beethoven, Schubert. ... Will he play the Brahms clarinet sonata with David Shifrin one day? His refined, elegant and deeply intellectual restraint holds in check his extravagent and open emotionalism. Perfect for Brahms.

A great recording of great music.

Rave reviews confirm that Richard Goode is a leader among the most overrated Bach pianists of this time. I owned his first recording of the wonderful Partitas and wasn't impressed, selling the CD shortly after receipt. This CD reinforces my belief in the shortcomings of his Bach playing. Have no doubt that Goode is a fine player; he hits all the right notes. He uses the pedals appropriately, too. He simply doesn't understand the music very well, even though his excellent notes rightly compare the Partitas to the Beethoven piano sonatas! Goode's style is fleet, superficial and uninvolved. He moves through the music with no real sense of occasion. Phrases played in repeat sound exactly the same as the first time through. Listen to pianists like Dubravka Tomsic, Kristina Svanberg and Elena Kuschnerova in Partitas 1, 3 and 6 to hear everything Goode misses, or simply buy a set of the Partitas by Roselyn Turek. Any of these women's work with elucidate the inadequacy of Richard Goode as a Bach interpreter.