Glenn Gould - Bach: Italian Concerto; Partitas Nos. 1 & 2; etc.

Title: Bach: Italian Concerto; Partitas Nos. 1 & 2; etc. Artist: Glenn Gould Release Date: 2006 Label: Sony Classical Duration: 71:51 Album Type(s): Various artists collection, performer(s) biography, composition (work) description UPC: 886970081429 Genre: Keyboard Music Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 0 Number of Discs/SwapaCD Credits: 1

1. Italian Concerto, for solo keyboard in F major (Clavier-Übung II/1), BWV 971 (BC L7)
   - 1.
2. Italian Concerto, for solo keyboard in F major (Clavier-Übung II/1), BWV 971 (BC L7)
   - 2. Andante
3. Italian Concerto, for solo keyboard in F major (Clavier-Übung II/1), BWV 971 (BC L7)
   - 3. Presto
4. Partita for keyboard No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825 (BC L1)
   - 1. Praeludium
5. Partita for keyboard No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825 (BC L1)
   - 2. Allemande
6. Partita for keyboard No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825 (BC L1)
   - 3. Corrente
7. Partita for keyboard No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825 (BC L1)
   - 4. Sarabande
8. Partita for keyboard No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825 (BC L1)
   - 5. Menuet 1 - Menuet 2
9. Partita for keyboard No. 1 in B flat major, BWV 825 (BC L1)
   - 6. Giga
10. Partita for keyboard No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826 (BC L2)
    - 1. Sinfonia
11. Partita for keyboard No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826 (BC L2)
    - 2. Allemande
12. Partita for keyboard No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826 (BC L2)
    - 3. Courante
13. Partita for keyboard No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826 (BC L2)
    - 4. Sarabande
14. Partita for keyboard No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826 (BC L2)
    - 5. Rondeaux
15. Partita for keyboard No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826 (BC L2)
    - 6. Capriccio
16. Italian Concerto, for solo keyboard in F major (Clavier-Übung II/1), BWV 971 (BC L7)
    - 1.
17. Italian Concerto, for solo keyboard in F major (Clavier-Übung II/1), BWV 971 (BC L7)
    - 2. Andante
18. Italian Concerto, for solo keyboard in F major (Clavier-Übung II/1), BWV 971 (BC L7)
    - 3. Presto
19. Concerto for solo keyboard No. 3 in D minor (after Alessandro Marcello), BWV 974 (BC L194)
    - 1.
20. Concerto for solo keyboard No. 3 in D minor (after Alessandro Marcello), BWV 974 (BC L194)
    - 2. Adagio
21. Concerto for solo keyboard No. 3 in D minor (after Alessandro Marcello), BWV 974 (BC L194)
    - 3. Presto
22. Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, for keyboard in D minor ("Rust" version), BWV 903a

By the time this single-disc compilation was issued in 2007, most listeners had long ago made up their minds about the late, great Glenn Gould. Some considered the Canadian pianist one of the musical marvels of the postwar era, a fleet-fingered wizard with a overwhelmingly compelling point of view. Others consider him a tremendously gifted eccentric with an incomprehensibly weird point of view. Neither camp will be converted to the other's position by this coupling of Gould's 1959 recordings of the "Italian" Concerto and the Partitas in B flat major and C minor with his 1981 recording of the "Italian" Concerto and his 1979 recordings of the Concerto in D minor after Marcello and the Chromatic Fantasy in D minor. Gould's playing evolved in inexplicable ways over the intervening two decades, but his technique remained beyond reproach while his interpretations remained beyond criticism for some and beyond comprehension for others. For some, his tone in the B flat Partita's sarabande may have the austere poetry of higher mathematics; for others, it may have only the dryer delights of brain surgery. For some, his quicker 1959 Andante from the "Italian" Concerto will have the biting pleasure of white wine; for others, his slower 1981 Andante will have the sharp pain of nails on a blackboard. Recorded at three different times by three different producers -- Howard H. Scott in 1959, Andrew Kazin in 1979, Gould himself in 1981 -- the sound of these performances is quite different -- clean and hard in 1959, crisp and close in 1979, tight and bright in 1981 -- but Sony's remastering is uniformly clear and open. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide

Name Credits David Foil Project Director Don Hunstein Original Photography Glenn Gould Piano Howard H. Scott Original Recording Producer Josee Begaud Liner Note Translation Laura Kszan Editorial Director Michelle Errante Product Manager Roxanne Slimak Design Direction Stefan Lerche Liner Note Translation Tammy Van Aken Packaging Manager Todd Whitelock Remastering Warren Wernick Project Director