Bach’s Goldberg Variations is a popular collection for the classically-trained pianist to record. Originally scored for harpsichord, the keyboard of Bach’s day (the exception being the organ), it was not until 1955 that a recording of the aria and variations written for the Russian Count Kaiserling’s house guest was made on piano in an historically incendiary performance by the late Glenn Gould. It was later reprised in a dramatically different fashion on his 1981 reconsideration of the piece shortly before the pianist’s death in 1982. Gould set the tone for Bach performance on the modern Hammerklavier. The Variations discography is immense, both on harpsichord and piano. This discussion will be restricted to the latter format as the central subject of this review is pianist Simone Dinnerstein’s performance of the Variations on Telarc Classical.
Goldberg performances range from the idiosyncratic Gould’s recordings to the conservative recordings of Rosalyn Turek’s 1999 Phillips set to the neo-conservative considerations of Andras Schiff’s 1990 Decca release and his excellent 2003 ECM offering. All embracing is Murray Perahia’s 2000 Sony release, perhaps the finest recording of the pieces on piano available. Neglected in these heady categories are the very personal performances best represented by Daniel Barenboim’s 2000 live performance at Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires. Add to the Argentinean’s heart-versus-head account, Simone Dinnerstein’s carefully considered and emotionally accounted Goldberg Variations.
Dinnerstein’s artistic story is a bit of Horatio Alger crossed with La Boehm. Immensely gifted but not entitled, Dinnerstein followed and developed her gifts with a list of prominent teachers that led her to a classical music market crowded with product with the goal of recognition a demanding if not improbable task. So how did this recording come about? Dinnerstein funded its recording herself as well as a performance of the piece at her New York debut in 2005. That fully cracked the ice ceiling along with her more recent recording of Beethoven Cello Sonatas 1-3 with Zuill Bailey on Delos Records. This winding road ultimately led to a contract with Telarc Classical and this recording. So, what gold is spun from straw in this recording? Dinnerstein chooses a slow and deliberate tempo for the opening aria, recalling, but indeed going beyond, Barenboim’s in Buenos Aires. She transitions beautifully into the first variation with command and confidence, a place where many lesser talent stumble.
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