Bach: Goldberg Variations (1981 Digital Recording)

CD Details

Bach – The Goldberg Variations – Glenn Gould / Sony Classical Audio CD 1999 Stereo / SS 37779 UPC 074643777964 /// Bach: The Goldberg Variations is the 1955 debut album of Canadian classical pianist Glenn Gould. An interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations (BWV 988), the work launched Gould’s career as a renowned international pianist, and became one of the most well-known piano recordings. Sales were “astonishing” for a classical album: it was reported to have sold 40,000 copies by 1960, and had sold more than 100,000 by the time of Gould’s death in 1982. In 1981, a year before his death, Gould made a new recording of the Goldberg Variations, sales of which exceeded two million by 2000. At the time of the first album’s release, Bach’s Goldberg Variations—a set of 30 contrapuntal variations beginning and ending with an aria—were outside the standard piano repertoire, having been recorded on the instrument only a few times before, either on small labels or unreleased. The work was considered esoteric and technically demanding, requiring awkward hand crossing at times when played on a piano (these passages would be played on two manuals on a harpsichord). Gould’s album both established the Goldberg Variations within the contemporary classical repertoire and made him an internationally famous pianist nearly “overnight”. First played in concert by Gould in 1954, the composition was a staple of Gould’s performances in the years following the recording. /// Label: Sony Classical – SS 37779 Format: CD, Stereo, Album Country: US Released: 1999 Genre: Classical Style: Baroque /// Tracklist: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 1 Aria 2 Variatio 1 A 1 Clav. 3 Variatio 2 A 1 Clav. 4 Variatio 3 A 1 Clav. Canone All’Unisono 5 Variatio 4 A 1 Clav. 6 Variatio 5 A 1 Ovvero 2 Clav. 7 Variatio 6 A 1 Clav. Canone Alla Seconda 8 Variatio 7 A 1 Ovvero 2 Clav. 9 Variatio 8 A 2 Clav. 10 Variatio 9 A 1 Clav. Canone Alla Terza 11 Variatio 10 A 1 Clav. Fughetta 12 Variatio 11 A 2 Clav. 13 Variatio 12 Canone Alla Quarta 14 Variatio 13 A 2 Clav. 15 Variatio 14 A 2 Clav. 16 Variatio 15 A 1 Clav. Canone Alla Quinta 17 Variatio 16 A 1 Clav. Ouverture 18 Variatio 17 A 2 Clav. 19 Variatio 18 A 1 Clav. Canone Alla Sesta 20 Variatio 19 A 1 Clav. 21 Variatio 20 A 2 Clav. 22 Variatio 21 Canone Alla Settima 23 Variatio 22 A 1 Clav. Alla Breve 24 Variatio 23 A 2 Clav. 25 Variatio 24 A 1 Clav. Canone All’Ottava 26 Variatio 25 A 2 Clav. 27 Variatio 26 A 2 Clav. 28 Variatio 27 A 2 Clav. Canone Alla Nona 29 Variatio 28 A 2 Clav. 30 Variatio 29 A 1 Ovvero 2 Clav. 31 Variatio 30 A 1 Clav. Quodlibet 32 Aria Da Capo Authoring [DSD Authoring Engineer] – Stephen Saper Composed By – Johann Sebastian Bach Design [Cover Design] – Henrietta Condak Engineer – John Johnson (3), Martin Greenblatt, Ray Moore, Stan Tonkel Engineer [Engineered For SACD By] – Dixon Van Winkle Photography By [Cover] – Don Hunstein Piano – Glenn Gould Producer – Glenn Gould, Samuel H. Carter Reissue Producer [Producer For SACD] – Dixon Van Winkle, Louise De La Fuente