Search - J.S. Bach :: Goldberg Variations

First Rate Playing of First Rate Music

GeneH | Pennsylvania, USA | 01/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ms. Jaccottet's playing is crisp, honest and mature. I hope I can play Bach as well as she did some day.



Her interpretation of the Goldberg's has become my idea of a "standard" interpretation, more so than even Glenn Gould. She also doesn't hum, which is an added plus.



I especially like her interpretation of the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue - she makes the work speak for itself.



Eventually this work will appear again. Don't hestitate to purchase it."

Bach Played Brilliantly! Great Value for Money, Great Sound

Frederick Baptist | Singapore | 06/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you are looking for a well-recorded version of Bach's Goldberg Variations played extremely competently look no further. Who needs Gould when you have Jaccottet? Not only is this disc ridiculously cheap for the quality of the material on it, the sound quality is DDD mastered and so sounds just fantastic. If you are like most people who couldn't give a hoot about the difference between a Richter and a Gould but would just like to listen to good Bach, this disc comes highly recommended."

One of a kind

Sanja Kostic | mirro | 05/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though before, I listened only to the Baroque operas, and thought that Bach made his music only for scholars, I recently discovered that, regarding of performance, his music could be very nice. By pure coincidence, after buying a Hayden/Handle/Mozart CD of Wanda Landowska, I decided to buy her Goldberg Variations. I fell for it and began looking for more recent recordings. Among hundreds interpretations there was only a couple of Goldberg Variations that capture my attention. However, this recordings is far the best one.

The Aria is lovely theme that should be repeated through various demands till the end. There is nothing sacral or even scary, as Landowska interpreted. Also it is not music of some personal inflame-fame, like Glenn Gould liked to bring in to public. It is just a magnificent Passacaglia with many variations that require rounded musician with excellent technique such as one of Christiane Jaccottet. She made it very comprehensive in all aspects: various characters, virtuosity, intelligence, passion, and managed to capture even my blunt responsiveness for the Bach music. This interpretation certainly is one of a kind.

Mirro"