Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 1. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 2. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 3. Canone all' Unisuono. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 4. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 5. a 1 0 vero 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 6. Canone alla Seconda. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 7. a 1 0 vero 2 Clav. al tempo di Giga
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 8. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 9. Canone alla Terza. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 10. Fugetta. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 11. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 12. Canone alla Quarta. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 13. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 14. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 15. Canone alla Quinta. a 1 Clav. Andante
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 16. Ouverture. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 17. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 18. Canone alla Sexta. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 19. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 20. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 21. Canone alla Settima. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 22. a 1 Clav. alla breve
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 23. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 24. Canone all' Ottava. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 25. a 2 Clav. Adagio
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 26. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 27. Canone alla Nona. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 28. a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 29. a 1 0 vero a 2 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Variatio 30. Quodlibet. a 1 Clav.
Goldberg Variations, for keyboard (Clavier-Übung IV), BWV 988 (BC L9): Aria da Capo e Fine
Andreas Staier waited nearly a quarter of a century before playing the Goldberg Variations in public. His long-awaited first performance was in Montreal at the end of April 2000, and this new set for harmonia mundi is his ... more »first recording of Bach s keyboard masterpiece. Undoubtedly one of the most prominent harpsichord and fortepiano performers in the world, Staier embarked upon a solo career in 1986 after leaving the acclaimed ensemble Musica Antiqua Köln. Since then, his indisputable musical mastery as a soloist has made its mark on the interpretation of baroque, classical and romantic repertoire. His extensive discography has garnered top critical awards from the international press. Staier says of the Goldbergs, Bach used the possibilities offered by the instrument s double keyboard. The work is totally suited to the harpsichord, whereas trying to play it on the piano is like attempting to square the circle.« less
Andreas Staier waited nearly a quarter of a century before playing the Goldberg Variations in public. His long-awaited first performance was in Montreal at the end of April 2000, and this new set for harmonia mundi is his first recording of Bach s keyboard masterpiece. Undoubtedly one of the most prominent harpsichord and fortepiano performers in the world, Staier embarked upon a solo career in 1986 after leaving the acclaimed ensemble Musica Antiqua Köln. Since then, his indisputable musical mastery as a soloist has made its mark on the interpretation of baroque, classical and romantic repertoire. His extensive discography has garnered top critical awards from the international press. Staier says of the Goldbergs, Bach used the possibilities offered by the instrument s double keyboard. The work is totally suited to the harpsichord, whereas trying to play it on the piano is like attempting to square the circle.
CD Reviews
At last, Staier's Goldberg Variations!
Mark Haxthausen | Williamstown, MA | 03/23/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I, too, have eagerly awaited this recording. I discovered Staier a few years ago, and have become an enthusiastic collector of his recordings. I especially admire his historical knowledge of performance practice, and his belief that instrumental color is an integral part of the music, so that from Bach and Scarlatti through Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Brahms, he chooses keyboard instruments that convey the sonority of the period. In this case he plays the Goldbergs on a modern copy of a 1734 harpsichord by the Hamburg maker Albrecht Hass, which he has used in two previous recordings.
Unlike the previous two reviewers I find this a stunning performance and recording (the ninth I own of the piece, six on piano and three on harpsichord, including the one by Rousset mentioned by a previous reviewer). I emphatically do not share his negative opinion of the recording or of the performance. Perhaps it is a matter of one's sound equipment, but, while the CD is indeed closely miked, I find this one of the most gorgeous-sounding harpsichord recordings I have ever heard. For me over an hour of harpsichord music can sometimes become unpleasantly clangorous, monotonous, and fatiguing, but not in this case, not with the wonderful variety of colors Staier draws from this instrument (just as he does in his fortepiano recordings, making his Haydn and Mozart performances so delightful and revelatory). This is a recording that has both presence and atmosphere; this harpsichord SOUNDS like a palpable three-dimensional object in space--and I am listening through only two speakers.
Using a second CD player, I compared a number of tracks by Rousset and Staier back to back, and consistently preferred Staier. Next to the color of his playing Rousset, admirable in so many respects, sounds rather monochromatic to me. I have been listening to various versions of the Goldbergs for fifty years, yet Staier's interpretation rekindled by initial awe for this miracle of musical art. A wonderful recording!
The CD also comes with a DVD, in which Staier, always an intelligent commentator on the music he plays, discusses the Goldberg variations and demonstrates his points on the harpsichord."
Average performance let down by poor recording
Ivor E. Zetler | Sydney Australia | 03/10/2010
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Bach's Goldberg Variations is certainly not short of recorded interpretations. You can get it played on (amongst other instruments) the piano, organ, wind quartet, harp and accordion. Here we have it performed on a copy of a Hass harpsichord-a large instrument built by a contemporary of J.S. Bach. One of the presumed intentions of this disc is to approximate the sound that Bach might have heard/produced.
Staier's playing of the Goldberg Variations is robust, uneccentric and straightforward. Compared to estimable harpsichord versions by Rousset and Hantai, I feel that Staier's vigorous performance is not on their level of elegance and sensitivity. I appreciate that opinions on the varying interpretaion of this music may vary.
What is really offputting about this release is the sound. It is recorded at quite a high level and the closeness of the microphones produces a sound that is unnatural to my ears. Just listen to track 17 where the harpsichord seems to leap out of the speakers in quite a disturbing fashion. This certainly would not have helped Count Kaiserling's (who commissioned the composition) insomnia when the music was played to him.
Given that there is so much competition in this repertoire, I would look elsewhere."
An Ordeal to Listen to
Richard P. Glasser | Chicago, IL United States | 03/22/2010
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I like Andres Staier, and was eagerly awaiting this release. What a disappointment! An over-miked, pedestrian, thuggish performance. I couldn't wait until it was over, a reaction I have never had to a performance of the Goldbergs. Overly aggressive bass, which sometimes obscures the melodic line. Unusual tempo choices for some variations, which sometimes work but more often distort the essential nature of the music. No continuity or overall sense of line--it's pretty much variation to variation. Some variations are just an undifferentiated blur of sound, which is surprising for this master technician. I share Dr.Zetler's enthusiasm for the Rousset and Hantai performances, and also like Celine Frisch and Trevor Pinnock."
A Superb Goldbergs
Mark Ringer | New York | 04/05/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is easily Staier's most satisfying performance of Bach on disc. The Haas copy is a gorgeous, robust instrument which opens many registrational possibilities unavailable on more chastely concieved instruments. It's like listening to a modern Kirkpatrick or Valenti in terms of the Haas' greater coloristic range: and such playing was both possible and likely in Bach's day. Staier's Bach is appropriately masaculine and dynamic without shortchanging the work's profoundly ruminative moments. Staier's tempi are sometimes unconventionally slowish, allowing the listener to relish passage work that many players leave blurred. At the end of the 80 minute disc one feels, as one should, that a universe of emotional and intellectual speculation has been traversed. The recording quality is excellent. The accompanying DVD interview is interesting. Only Ketil Haugsand and Bob van Asperen offer equally compelling recent versions on historic instruments or authentic copies."
Controversial Goldbergs
Oldnslow | Seattle, Washington USA | 04/30/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This recording will surely raise controversy, and already has. It is a big-boned reading, played on a rather unusual harpsichord, with some stops kinda like an organ, allowing Staier to produce some usual voicings for some of the variations. The recording quality of this performance is very close up, making it difficult to hear clearly some of the faster variations. Nevertheless, I find this to be a fascinating performance, and it is almost like a throwback (and update) of a Wanda Landowska performance. Staier has put a lot of thought, intelligence, and flair into his reading of this great piece, which can seemingly tolerate an unending number of approaches and instruments and still remain a masterpiece. While not a first choice (I suppose Hantai on harpsichchord on Opus 111 and Perahia on piano would be my modern favorites) this offers a very interesting alternative for those with an open mind."
Track Listings (32) - Disc #1