Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Julian Rachlin, Mischa Maisky :: Bach: Goldberg Variations

No better than the Orfeo edtion

Cong Shi | China | 04/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't understand why the beginning and ending arias are made so slow and what's especially worse is they are too low in volumn compared with the rest of the work. And the three pieces of instruments seems--I don't know how to describe it--not sympathetic to each other. Except this, the rest part of the performance is remarkable, but I still prefer the Orfeo edtion."

Not outstanding

pohjola | Maryland | 06/04/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Now I wonder why I even bought this thing, since I have the original orfeo recording of this arrangement of the Goldberg variations for string trio. My overall objection is the "fussy" playing throughout. Few variations are played with any brio. Many variations or major sections are played softly throughout, apparently in an attempt to introduce marked contrasts between the variations, but this results in a large fraction of the variations being very unsatisfying on their own. I'd prefer the orfeo recording, or one of the recordings by a chamber orchestra, or Angela Hewitt on piano, Andras Schiff on Piano, or one of the standard harpsichord versions.

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