The Gould Variations: The Best of Glenn Gould's Bach

EDITORIAL REVIEWS REVIEW If you've never heard Glenn Gould's Bach, this well planned compilation might just be your ticket to ride, as well as a great gift idea. Disc one begins and ends with the Aria from the Goldberg Variations (Gould's theme song, sort of). Among familiar Gouldian fare are the Fifth Partita, selected inventions, plus the C major and D major Preludes and Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier. Some less obvious choices also prove compelling examples of Gould's x-ray Bach style: the A minor Italian Variations, the Gigue from the B minor French overture, and the Chromatic Fantasy minus its fugue (Gould hated the fugue, and never recorded it!). Disc two contains Gould's sole organ recording, devoted to the first nine movements of The Art of Fugue. If you insert this disc in your computer CD-ROM drive, you can access a nifty interactive program. It includes full scores, liner notes, logs from the recording session, and marvelous video footage of Gould playing selections from Bach's valedictory opus at the piano. You'll be spellbound as Gould launches with soft, concentrated deliberation into the final section of the great unfinished fugue (where Bach's name is spelled out in musical notes). At the very moment Bach's manuscript breaks off, Gould's hunched-over image freezes in midair. I get goose bumps every time I see it. -- From ClassicsToday.com

Gould Variations: Best Of Gould's Bach (Enh)