Search - J.S. Bach, Rousset :: Christophe Rousset ~ Bach - Goldberg Variations

Bach would have attended all performances in the series!

02/02/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I think I am not supposed to comment solely on the performer; yet given the work performed and the composer, a comment on either would be superfluous. Neither needs any comment. In the case of such works, the performer is everything; and Christophe Rousset seems to be just about that: everything. His performances in ensemble work are wonderful, but his special gift is evident in solo work such as this. The haprsichord has a reputation for being a "less than" instrument in comparison with the piano: less tonal color, less dynamic range, less yielding of nuance. In some performers' hands this is so. When Rousset plays, the instrument sings. What Toscanini was to the orchestra, Rousset is to his instrument. How he coaxes such fluidity, nuance and sense of melody from it, is beyond any explanation - other than the simple one, that he has sold his soul to God."

Brilliant AND elegant - seek this one out!

John Gouwens | Culver, IN USA | 09/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though my musical activity is on other keyboards (organ, carillon), I have long believed that the Goldberg Variations represents THE greatest piece of music in any genre. Why? It is a triumph in that through all the "intellectual" techniques (canon at every interval from unison to twelfth, fugato, several lively hand-crossing concerto movements), it is, end to end, delightful listening. (This is in decided contrast to "Art of Fugue" and "Canonic Variations on 'Vom Himmel Hoch'" by Bach, both of which are, in total, quite dull listening.) My collection of recordings of this work is large, including four different readings (spanning several decades) by Gustav Leonhardt, Wanda Landowska's brilliant but eccentric reading, Scott Ross, and Rousset. The late Scott Ross and Christophe Rousset shared the common distinction of winning the seldom-awarded First Prize at the prestigious Bruges Harpsichord Competition. Both went on to glorious recording and performing careers, though Ross's life was cut short through his untimely death (age 38 or so). I acquired the Ross and Rousset recordings of Goldberg at the same time, and decided to do an "A-B" comparison of the two, by listening to variation 1 by Rousset, then Variation 1 and 2 by Ross, then 2 and 3 by Rousset, etc. until I had compared the entire work that way. Ross's playing was always elegent, eminently singing and musical. Rousset's playing tends to be a bit more "driven," and he can sound a bit "ill at ease" in passages that are at their best presented in simple elegance. For many of the variations, Ross has the edge for that reason. One certainly couldn't go wrong with either! BUT, the hair-raising excitement of the French Overture-style variation, and a couple of the other really fiery variations, won me over to preferring the Rousset. What a wild man!!! It's a very special recording of this phenomenal piece. With all due respect to different tastes for different folks, I think it's a travesty to use Glenn Gould's flippant, insensitive piano recording of this work as a measuring stick for a stylistically appropriate harpsichord reading. No, Rousset isn't the Glenn Gould of the harpsichord! He's WAY better than that! Seek this one out, and beg the publisher to re-issue it! It's a true masterpiece!"