Comparison Recordings:
Andras Schiff: Bach, English Suites.
Decca 421 640-2
Andras Schiff: Goldberg Variations.
Decca 417 116-2 & 460 611-2
Glenn Gould, Goldberg Variations. [ADD
1956] Sony MYK 38479
Glenn Gould, Goldberg Variations. [ADD
1981] Sony 87703
Glenn Gould, Goldberg Variations. [DDD
1981] Sony MK 37779 and SS 37779
Fernando Valenti, Goldberg Variations,
harpsichord. Sine Qua Non 79045-2
Murray Perahia, Goldberg Variations.
Sony SACD
SS 89243
D. Sitkovetsky, Goldberg Variations,
String Trio. Orfeo 138851
András Schiff
began his musical conquest of Glenn
Gould’s Bach reputation by attacking
him first where he was weak. Most critics
agreed that Gould’s English Suites
were his least distinguished Bach recording,
and Schiff’s English Suites have
been the standard of pianoforte excellence
in this work for a number of years now.
Having won that one, Schiff now attacks
where Gould was strongest, in the Goldberg
variations, among Gould’s most acclaimed
recording(s). And he beats, or at least
equals, him here also, thereby gaining
entrée to space on top
of the tallest column in the Bach district
of Parnassus, a space he must share
with Murray Perahia as well as with
Glenn Gould*. Particularly Schiff has
shown he can use pianoforte staccato
with just as much variety and expressive
facility as Gould, something that Perahia
did not try to prove, although I suspect
in a tournament he is certainly capable
of distinguishing himself on that point
also.
I heard Glenn Gould
play the Goldberg Variations
in concert twice, on one occasion which
was his final public appearance, and
on another occasion which his official
biography insists never occurred. In
addition to the two commercial recording
there is also a Canadian Broadcasting
CD special of Gould playing some of
the Goldbergs in Moscow. All performances
were quite different. And of course
there you have the point; among the
reliable distinguishing characteristics
of true genius is the impatience with
ever doing the same thing twice. The
total number of possible interpretations
of this masterpiece is infinity squared,
and no two recordings by talented and
conscientious musicians will be the
same. (I heard once a recording by an
East European harpsichordist of a work
[not the Goldbergs] recently recorded
by an American harpsichordist. The Eastern
recording was a perfect imitation, proving
that one musician can play just like
another, if desired. Is this something
we wanted to know?)
Schiff very creatively
ornaments the repeats in these variations,
and I think he even adds a few extra
repeats to give himself more chances
to have fun, considering that this does
not sound like a slow recording yet
is twice as long as Gould’s recording.
He observes (as I do) the principle
that an ornament, expected, but not
performed, is in itself an ornament,
a "surprise." That may prove
to be the first statement in the new
science of quantum musicology. (If carried
further, this science should establish
that the smallest unit of musical intelligence
should be named the "critic."
A million times this much would naturally
be the megacritic, or colloquially
perhaps the "Shaw," the "Tovey,"
or the "Porter." Paradoxically,
"hypercritical" critics often
have less than a micro-critic worth
of musical intelligence. But you see,
Bach is frequently described as a "mathematical"
composer, so these ideas must naturally
arise.)
Sorry for the bad news.
How many magnificent recordings of this
supreme work must there be? Like the
Buddhist infinitely petalled lotus the
flower keeps blooming forever becoming
ever more magnificent without limit.
Will there ever be a time when one looks
at a sunset and says, "oh, that
one again." One can hear Captain
Kirk privately lamenting: "Oh,
no, not yet another new
world where no one has ever gone before!"
And, in addition to the keyboard versions,
Sitkovetsky’s string trio version is
extremely dangerous; don’t listen to
it, not even a small part of it, or
you’ll have to have that one, too. [I
haven’t heard, and don’t intend to hear,
Sitkovetsky’s later string orchestra
version. Nor, regrettably, have I had
the chance to hear Schiff’s earlier
piano version of the Goldbergs on Decca.]
The Valenti recording was made very
late in his career after he had switched
to a "politically correct"
harpsichord and largely abandoned his
early flamboyant style; however, enough
of the old fire remains to make this
version worthwhile — also.
*and probably with
the ghost of Donald Francis Tovey, who
first performed publicly the "unplayable"
work but, alas, never recorded his interpretation,
or, I should say, any of his interpretations.
Paul Shoemaker
András
Schiff, piano 
