Bach Goldberg Variations

GoffredoLiguri wrote:

... don't you find the 4 complete ones excessive?

It may be so, but they were motivated by two very precise factors: the maturation of the performer and the progressive improvement of recording techniques. Comparing the first (from the mid-'50s, with the Philharmonia Orchestra, for EMI) and the last (from the '80s, with the Berliners, for DGG), both things are clearly perceptible.

Interesting Carlos, the reference to recording techniques

Ludovica wrote:

Interesting reference to recording techniques, Carlos

Well, it is an interest that both Gould and Karajan shared. The CD began to be marketed in 1982, although it was presented by Sony in 1980. Furthermore, I would point out that Sony asked Karajan not only to act as a spokesperson at the press conference for the CD's presentation in Japan, but even to suggest the duration of the CD, and Karajan said that the CD should last 74 minutes, because that was the duration of Beethoven's Ninth conducted by Furtwängler, which would thus fit on a single CD.

Gould recorded only a few discs digitally (the Goldbergs, obviously, but before that, the Strauss disc, the one with Haydn's late sonatas, and the one with Brahms' Ballades and Rhapsodies). Karajan, on the other hand, had enough time to re-record much of his repertoire digitally.

... one day you will tell us about your sources

Ludovica wrote:

... one day you will tell us about your sources

A book of mine on Glenn Gould will be released in September. Is that enough for you?

If you give us the references, we will read the bibliography

Ludovica wrote:

If you give us the references, we will read the bibliography

You will be informed without fail

I want an absolute copy! Input, give us input!

TheSimon wrote:

I want a copy absolutely! Input, give us input!

The book will be released in September; we are finalizing the editing and are now at the final correction details. It is not a biography (there are already too many) but rather a book that deals exclusively with GG's musical activity, with a clear preference (obviously) regarding his work with the media. In addition to being a work that is naturally documented and "scientific," so to speak, what makes it special is the form I have chosen to write it in, which I do not want to reveal yet, so that it remains a surprise. It will be, I hope, not only interesting but also fun to read...

Carlos, keep us updated!! It's quite intriguing and then thanks to the forum, once read, we could even talk about it. That would be a nice thing.

Carlos, do we have news regarding the book?

TheSimon wrote:

Carlos, do we have any news regarding the book?

The book will be released in September/October (the "Gouldian period" par excellence).

syou will obviously be informed about it, don't doubt it!

How many are the Goldberg Variations? Regarding the Goldberg Variations, the various editions on the market that I have been able to find on the Internet (e.g., CdUniverse) feature 32 tracks, including the initial Aria and the final one, but I have heard it mentioned that, in reality, there are about 44 existing variations.

What is the story? How many are there?

If there actually were more than the usual 32, which editions feature a complete performance of the variations?

A related question: I have heard that Glenn Gould's 1982 version (which also contains 32 tracks) differs in

duration compared to the previous recording by the same pianist; why is there this difference between the two versions? What are any other possible differences between the two recordings?

One last thing: what are the peculiarities of Glenn Gould's 1982 Sony edition regarding the piano (it seems to me they had something to do with digital technology...)?

carletto wrote:

What are any other possible differences between the two recordings?

In the first recording from 1959, Glenn Gould had to prove that he was Glenn Gould; when he recorded the second version, in 1982, Glenn Gould was tired of being Glenn Gould.

carletto wrote:

How many are the Goldberg Variations? Regarding the Goldberg Variations, the various editions on the market that I have been able to find on the Internet (e.g., CdUniverse) present 32 tracks, including the initial Aria and the final one, but I have heard talk of the fact that, in reality, the existing variations are about 44.

I have never heard of the existence of 44 variations, nor do I believe there are any documents regarding this. Where did you "hear about it"?

carletto wrote:

A related question: I have heard that Glenn Gould's 1982 version (which also contains 32 tracks) is different in terms of duration compared to the previous recording by the same pianist; why is there this difference between the two versions? What are any other possible differences between the two recordings?

One last thing: what are the peculiarities of Glenn Gould's 1982 Sony edition regarding the piano (it seems to me they had something to do with digital technology...)?

It is a very complex discussion, in reality. First of all, in the 1955 recording (not 1959 as Marebù wrote), Gould did not perform any ritornello, whereas in the 1981 recording (not 1982; it was released in 1982), he performs some (but not all). This in itself already distorts the duration of the two recordings. Some of the variations are slower in the 1981 recording, but others are not, and there is even one that is faster (the 5th and 26th are exactly the same, and the 25th in the 1981 recording is actually 26" shorter).

If one only looks at the tempo of individual pieces, however, one fails to grasp the true sense of the novelty of the second recording compared to the first, which lies in Gould's identification of a relationship of tactus that binds all the variations closely together, because it links them to the Aria, whereas otherwise they would be linked only by the common harmonic bass, but not by any thematic commonality. This is why it makes little sense to observe only the duration of either the cycle or the individual variations, because the differences in tempo are the consequence of a more organic musical project.

As for digital technology, certainly, the 1981 recording is digital, whereas the 1955 one certainly could not be, and the piano Gould used in 1981 was, for the first time since he had started recording discs, a Yamaha—the same one he would use for the recording of Haydn's last six sonatas.

Marebù's sarcastic comment gives me the opportunity to say one more thing (besides the fact that that comment is logically unfounded). The 1981 Goldbergs have always been considered Gould's "musical testament," but that is not the case, nor was it how he himself considered them; instead, during that period, despite having declared that at fifty he would stop playing the piano, he had begun to rethink some pieces of his repertoire and had plans to record much more. After the Goldbergs, he re-recorded the Italian Concerto, recorded the album with Brahms' Ballades op. 10 and Rhapsodies op. 79, completed the album with Strauss' Sonata op. 5 and Five Pieces op. 3, and intended to record the Well-Tempered Clavier again, to complete Beethoven's Sonatas, and many other things. He was not at all tired of being Glenn Gould. But he did not manage to be it for much longer. Unfortunately.

News Carlos?

Henle Urtext and Wiener Urtext (which, among other things, offers the embellishments marked above the lines but in a subtle grey tone so as not to weigh down the reading) are magnificent. Careful, magnificent especially for the ease of reading. I can no longer manage to read except on Urtext... on others, anyway, with great difficulty. Posting two photo examples.

The first two (if they came out in order) Carisch edition revised by Mugellini... visually it looks like World War II.

The others are Henle Verlag

I quote Simon anyway..

We are interpreters for this, as well as pianists.

A reviewer is useful but ....we also have a brain.

Let's also consider that in the end....one decision or another has to be made anyway.

And so...reviewers of ourselves in the end.

Even the second one is a second world war ... in pencil, but it is. One should imagine it brand new

Ha ha...you're right...but I was the one who started that war there.