...And Serenity [Original recording remastered]

Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer), Jean Sibelius (Composer), Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Johannes Brahms (Composer), Felix [1] Mendelssohn (Composer), Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (Composer), Edvard Grieg (Composer), Alexander Scriabin (Composer), Glenn Gould (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Glenn Gould
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach, Jean Sibelius, Richard [1] Strauss, Johannes Brahms, Felix [1] Mendelssohn, et al.
• Audio CD (October 7, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000CG8A1
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,619 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #37 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Modern, 20th, & 21st Century > Composers > Scriabin, Alexander
  • #86 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Ballads

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good sampling., June 20, 2005

By 

K. Bowersock (Lubbock, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ...And Serenity (Audio CD)

I own almost all of Glenn Gould's Bach recordings, and if you want that, don't get this (it only has two excerpts, and these are hardly representative of his definitive Bach recordings). However, Bach is not the point of this disc; the reason why I was interested in it was that I wanted to experience how Gould plays some of the composers which he claimed to have great admiration for. I wanted to get a taste of Gould's Brahms, and Strauss, while at the same time understanding how he plays Scriabin and Grieg. I was not disappointed; it is a great disk filled with extraordinarily beautiful music. This disk shows that Gould can master many of the middle to late romantics just as easily as he can Bach and Schoenberg(and for me, this disk did one of its other jobs as well, I recently bought the complete set of Gould's Brahms recordings - so in opposition to the previous reviewer: good job Sony). Overall a worthwhile Gould sampler set for all lovers of music.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a brave revelation of his hidden soul, November 22, 2006

By 

Ying Lu (Detroit, MI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ...And Serenity (Audio CD)

A bit out of characteristic for Glenn Gould's style, but the selection and the performances are nonethless stunning. My favorite is the opening piece by Bach, although Brahm's and Strauss works are just as captivating. It's evident that the pianist is malleable to diverse interpretation and artistry.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Artistic Revelation, May 3, 2006

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ...And Serenity (Audio CD)

I did NOT buy this for the Goldberg Variations but for the overall mood of the CD and how it showcased the quentessential Gould. If you can't abide the admittedly strange eccentricies, phrasing and inner voices of the pianist then by all means - don't buy the album. But for those who want an individualistic but sincere interpretation of seductive music for the pianoforte, this is a winner.

To all who saw The 32 Variations of Glenn Gould, I was reminded of the scene in the hotel room when he plays the recording for the awed cleaning lady and fades into a world of his own as he slowly became the music. One this for sure - in an age in which it is nearly impossible to differentiate one "great" pianist by another, Gould is an exception. In fact, I find the signature playing of the old artists - Bolet, Richter, Horowitz, Rubinstein - preferable to the ultra-technical but totally interchangeable artists of today.

There is no "best" of the CD - all are miniature portraits as unique as their interpreter. I loved the Brahms despite the slight hum or maybe because of it. Do I think Scriabin would have played the Deux Morceaux like this? No, but I think he would have appreciated Gould's interpretation and that is the whole point. If the pianist has a valid artistic reason for his view of a piece, we may or may not agree with its presentation but we cannot argue with its sincerity.