Reference @

List of CDs for the Goldberg Variations
Performer ; instrument ; No. of CD ; playing time ; Comments by the performer or critics@

1. Wanda Landowska ( harpsichord ) EMI CDH 7610082 ( 45'46" ) 1933

2. Ralph Kirkpatrick ( harpsichord ) Music&Arts CD-976 ( 4-CD set ) ( 43:36 ) 1952 ( 1997 )

   ( Comments by mocfujita ; I did not expect to be able to listen to this performance by Ralph Kirkpatrick until October 1997. And I was surprised at the value of the performance. Many of us including me thought him as professor or researcher not as performer. He made the great works of editing scores and analyzing the music. But in my opinion Ralph Kirkpatrick was better than Wanda Landowska as harpsichord player for the Goldberg Variations. Glenn Gould did not mention this at all. I don't know why.
   However this recording was not only for the Goldberg Variations but also for all the four practices for clavier by Bach. I think that he did not have any intension to give a world-wide publication to the Goldberg Variations. Anyway this CD was made by digitizing the master tapes ( Ampex 402B ; 38 cm/sec ) of 1952 in 1996. Wows have been eliminated. Noises have been removed. It is like a newly recorded CD. As to the performance, there is no repeat, so all are A-B-. It is not a virtuoso type, but clear and beautiful.
   - The 1952 Haydn Society recording; performed on a Chickering / Dolmetsch harpsichord; Historic mono. - )

3. Glenn Gould ( piano ) CBC PSCD2007 ( 42'30" ) 1954

   ( Comment by mocfujita ; Surprisingly there was a record of Gould's performance of the Goldberg Variations in 1954 ( before 1955 ) in the Canadian National Library. And now we can listen to it. This is the fourth publication of Gould's Goldberg. Gould did not intend to make a CD by this recording. But we can have it as a valuable asset or enjoy for entertainment.
   This performance was broadcasted from his recital one year before the shocking debut of Glenn Gould with that Goldberg Variations in 1955. Anyway the sound is good enough to enjoy it. with the present high technology.
   Is there any differences between 1954 and 1955 ( the debut ) ? Live performance was perfect without his moaning voices. There was only one repeat in the first part of the final aria. As a whole this was on the way to the next perfection. )
   

4. Glenn Gould ( piano ) Sonyclassical SRCR8923 ( 38'21" ) 1955

   ( Comment by mocfujita ; This is the shocking debut record. It is even now the best selling classic record ( CD ). You can find always this CD at your neighbor CD shop. The first record jacket ( cover ) was remarkable. I would like to have the same cover once again.

5. Glenn Gould ( piano ) Sony SRCR-9500 ( 37'07" ) 1959 ( Salzburg Live )

6. Helmut Walcha ( harpsichord ) Angel TOCE-7232 ( 75'45" ) 1961

7. Charles Rosen ( piano ) ( 75'50" ) 1967

8. Wiilhelm Kempff ( piano ) Gramophone POCG-2996 ( 60'48" ) 1969

9. Karl Richter ( cembalo ) Archif POCA2019 ( 77'26" ) 1970

   ( Comment by Richiter ; You should not give wrong impressions to listeners by changing musical incidents inside the work deliberately. Let's assume that there is a Bach's work which consists of three parts A,B and C. In order to maintain the specific Bach's structure, each part has to have its own specific character. If you put too much coloring to a part, the contrast among three parts will be fade away, and listeners can not understand by how many parts the work is constructed. But in order to describe A part as A itself and with one specific color, the performer has to have a breath which supports this effort. The breath can not be obtained in short time. It takes many years for a performer to master the tempo specific to the work. )
   ( Comment by mocfujita ; The sound is too gorgeous to sleep. )

10. Yerk Demus ( harpsichord ) Brattz P27G527 ( 74'05" ) 1970?

    ( Comment by Demus ; Bach composed the most artistic variations for keyboard which needs the highest technique. )
    ( Comment by mocfujita ; There were a lot of tempo rubato. Velocity was set in various ways. )

11. Gustav Leonhardt ( harpsichord ) German HarmoniaMundi BVCD5022 ( 47'23" ) 1970?

12. Yuji Takahashi ( piano ) Denon COCO-7964 1976

13. Tatiana Nikolayeeva ( piano ) Melodia VICC40126/7 ( 83'19" ) 1979

14. Trevor Pinnock ( harpsichord ) Archiv POCA-2112 ( 60'47" ) 1980

15. Christiane Jaccottet ( harpsichord ) INT INT820.539 1981

16. Glenn Gould ( piano ) CBS sony 22DC5543 ( 51'18" ) 1981

    ( Comment by mocfujita ; It is the greatest performance of the Goldberg Variations which will live for ever. Gould passed away after giving us this performance. Look at him on the CD cover. He had an atmosphere of agony or being exhausted sitting down on a chair. But there is no sign of darkness or pain on his performance. It is the one which I would like to listen to through all my life. Thank you, Glenn Gould. )

17. Edit Pipito Aksenfult ( harpsichord ) Kanorata 30CM-7-8 1983

18. Kenneth Gilbert ( harpsichord ) France HarmoniaMundi KKCC-36 ( 66'49" ) 1986

19. Anthony Newman ( harpsichord ) DUN-DIW501 ( 55'26" ) 1987

20. Andras Schiff ( piano ) London POCL-5127 ( 72'15" ) 1987

21. Ton Koopman ( harpsichord ) Elart WPCC4248 ( 62'23" ) 1988

    ( Comment by Koopman ; I intended not to make people sleep but to give them new surprises. )
    ( Comment by mocfujita ; I don't think there are new surprises. I don't think there is no tranquility to make us sleep. )

22. Yuget Trefess ( harpsichord ) Denon COCO75631 ( 79'17" ) 1988

23. Daniel Barenboim ( piano ) Elart WPCC3256/7 ( 80'35" ) 1989

    ( Comment by Barenboim ; I studied the Goldberg Variations more than 25 years. And now ( in 1989 ) I have come to the point where I can understand faintly the meaning of the interpretation . )
    ( Comment by mocfujita ; The sound is good enough as a live recording. Trills are fine. But partially it is good and 80 minutes are too long. )

24. Keith Jarrett ( harpsichord ) ECM1395 ( 61'40" ) 1989

25. Fussong? ( accordion )

26. Glenn Wilson ( harpsichord ) Teldick? WPCC-4313-4 ( 41'38" ) 1990

27. Pierre Hantai ( harpsichord ) TokyoMBrass? MOPS30-84 ( 77'27" ) 1992

28. Andrei Gavrilov ( piano ) Gramophone POCG1708 ( 74'21" ) 1992

    ( Comment by mocfujita ; Gavrilov was born in 1955 in Moscow. At 18 years old he won the first prize of the Tchaikovsky Competition. He played all repeats, AABB. It is like in a factory. At the 15th variation he displayed his talent as the Tchaikovsky Competition winner. He might have tried to make sounds of cembalo by piano. At 25th variations he played sentimentally as being requested, but it was too long, say 11 minutes, to listen more. )

29. Mari Kumamoto ( piano ) King KICC110 ( 53'11" ) 1993
    

    ( Comment by Miss Mari Kumamoto ; More than a dozen years ago, Glenn Gould said to me, ' You're the only one capable of judging your own talent and potential. You have to believe in yourself.'
    Now I think in retrospect that perhaps I owe my career as a pianist to his words of encouragement.
    I believe that in this recording I have succeeded in translating 28 years of my history into music, in all honesty and the best of my ability. )
    

30. Takahiro Sonoda ( piano ) HV-Evica HTCA-1010 ( 75'45" ) 1994

31. Konstantin Lifschitz ( piano ) COCO-78961 ( 79'02" ) 1994

32. Peter Zelkin ( piano ) BMC BVCC-724 ( 47'03" ) 1995

33. Sitobetuki? ( arranged into string ensemble ) Warner WPCS 5004 ( 59'55" ) 199?

34. Christophe Rousset ( harpsichord ) Polidor POCL1619 ( ??'??" ) 199?

1. The Score J.S.Bach the Goldberg Variations
   edited and annotated by Ralph Kirkpatrick ( 1934 )
   

2. Glenn Gould Writings Vol.1 and Vol.2
   edited by Tim Page? ( 1990 )

   The thesis by Gould about the Goldberg Variations is interesting and important. This was for the annotation of his own LP of 1955. And one about the art of fuge tells us his strong devotion to the method of counterpoint.

3. GLENN GOULD : A LIFE AND VARIATIONS
   by Otto Friedrich 1989
   

   Gould expressed his thought about both two versions of 1955 and 1981.

4. J.S.Bach's Clavier Works
   written by Hermann Kellar?
   

5. Tuning of cembalo - Revive the sonido of Bach -
   written by Helbert Antre Kernar? ( 1990 )

6. Seminar of Sound Technology No.3 Architectural Sound
   written by I. Nagata ( 1988 )

7. The Great Study about Glenn Gould
   edited in Japan

   Talk about Bach 2 - About new recording
   There is a dialog between Glenn Gould and Tim Page?. It is very interesting.

8. The small chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach
   (Die kleine Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach )
   

   It is fun to read it. But nobody has referred it as a genuine record about J.S.Bach. I have wondered if it was a fiction or not. The fact was that someone with a name of Ester Menel(?) wrote it without any comment which told it was a fiction in early 20th century. However, it has a lot of reality because the story was based on the content of the Study of Bach written by Prof. Shupita(?).
   Many people think even now that it was written by Anna Magdalena by herself. It is interesting enough to read as a fiction. So it should be clearly stated that it was written by someone not Anna.
   In 1967, a movie was made based on this book by Jan Mari Strauv? as the small chronicle of Anna Magdalena. I haven't seen it yet.

9. Klavierbuchlein fur Anna Magdalena Bach
   Barenreiter-Verlag Kassel ( 1959 )
   

   The Musical Notebook reproduced as original. The cover is very pretty with a light green color and in-printed Anna's name and 1725. It must be one of the most valuable presents from a husband to his wife in the world. And in it there is the Aria for the Goldberg Variations as No.26.

   
   

10. The Life of Bach by graphics and testimonies
    written and edited by Michael Kolt? and Shutephan Koolmann? ( 1990 )

11. The Bach Encyclopedia in Japanese
    edited by Prof. Ichiro Sumikura ( 1993 )

12. The Glenn Gould Variations
    edited by John Maglievie? ( 1986 )

    The editor had no intension to alter the name of the Goldberg Variations.

13. The Great Composer Bach
    written by Martin Geck? ( 1955 )

14. Glenn Gould / The Goldberg Variations ( 1981 )
    Glenn Gould Collections Sony SRVM1103 ( Video )
    

    The Video record of the whole performance of the Goldberg Variations in 1981

15. The Dialog with Glenn Gould
    written by Johnasan Kont? ( 1990 )
    

    The record of telephone conversations of 6 hours in 1974

16. On the Record Off the Record - Young Gould - ( 1959 )
    Philips ( 1989 ) Video

    As a fan of Glenn Gould it must be seen.
    How did he select a certain piano for his recording ? How did he spend his days at his home in Toronto and practise his piano ? Interviews. How did he do his recording in the Colombia Studio ? An example was the Italian Concerto by Bach.

17. Fuge
    written by Marsel Bich? and Jann Bonfis? ( 1981 ) in France?
    

    There is a complete explanation about counterpoints and canons.

18. The Tecnique of Using Piano Pedals?
    written by Jossef Panovitz? ( 1989 )
    

    It has very useful information about how to make the computer play piano music. Pedaling has a profound meaning in resonance.

19. GLENN GOULD SELECTED LETTERS
    

    Edited and compiled by John P.L.Roberts and Ghyslaine Guertin
    Oxford University Press 1992
    Among the letters of Glenn Gould there was one which was to Miss Kimiko Nakayama of Dusseldorf, Germany ( November 12,1972 ). I don't know if she is Japanese or not. Anyway I am envious of it.
    " Dear Miss Kimiko Nakayama
    Thank you very much for your letter of September 26, which was forwarded to me, and particularly for your very kind and interesting comments...........
    and I do believe that this instrumental indifference plays an important part in helping us to achieve sufficient freedom so as to articulate our perhaps quite specialized views of his music without embarrassment..........."
    

20. Bach: THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS
    

    written by Peter Williams
    CAMBRIDGE MUSIC HANDBOOKS, Cambridge University Press 2001, 112 pages

    Professor Williams wrote on the 95th page of his book,
    "In public, Schumann and his wife were more likely to play piano transcriptions of chorales than anything in Clavierrubung, which he seems to have regarded as 'exercises' or etude in the usual sense at the time, perhaps misled by the title."
    I suposse, "If Robert Schumann had found out the meaning of the Goldberg Variations as 'a healing power', he would not have been in such a great agony as he was suffered from his mental disease in his later years."

    Anyway, "In the course of the book he poses a number of key questions. Why should such a work be written? Dose the work have both a conceptual and a perceptual shape? .....", which is from the back page comment. I also want to get the answer.

Concert Lives of the Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould @

22 years old	*1955.	03.14	Ottawa
		07.29	Stratford
23 years old		11.07	Montreal
	*1957.	05.11	Moscow
		05.16	Saint Petersburg
24 years old		11.11	Toronto
		11.16	Pittsburgh
		11.20	Cincinnati
		12.07	New York
	*1958.	01.23	Philadelphia
		02.12	Kingston
		02.17	Winnipeg
		03.21	Boston
		03.23	Montreal
		03.28	Lexington
		07.23	Vancouver
25 years old		11.15	Florence
		12.14	Telaviv
		12.16	Telaviv
	*1959.	01.09	Pasadena
		02.24	Buffalo
		03.01	Washinton.D.C.
		05.16	Berlin
		08.25	Salzburg	We have a live CD from Salzburg.
26 years old		10.12	Annarbor
		11.01	San Francisco
27 years old	*1961.	04.25	Los Angeles	the last live performance of the Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould
------	------	------	-----	-----
32 years old	*1964.	03.28	Chicago	the last live performance by Glenn Gould not for the Goldberg Variations

data from : The life of Glenn Gould by Otto Friedrich