Light On Dark Water

Some months ago my friend Robert gave me a copy of Murray Perahia’s performance of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, saying that it sets a new standard for the piece, and is better than the famous 1955 Glenn Gould version. This eventually led to a period of a couple of weeks in which I listened to both performances several times. I can say I now know and appreciate the work far more than I had.

As I’ve undoubtedly said before here, I don’t have the sophisticated discernment or the technical knowledge to say much about the merits and demerits of classical performance. And yet I do find sometimes that I prefer one performance to another, and it’s interesting to try to articulate the reasons.

Just to make my limits clear, let me say that I will never be able to speak of music as David Hurvitz does in this review of the Perahia performance:

He's extremely careful to shape groups of variations to form expressive arches. The most impressive of these explores the gradual increase in tension from Variations 26 through 30. Note how Perahia uses the piano's dynamic range to give the 28th variation, with its long ornamental trills, an unusually quiet delicacy (on harpsichord this can sound like the sewing machine from hell), followed by a natural intensification through his bold treatment of the rapidly alternating chords of Variation 29, and culminating, with an effortless sense of climax, in the contrapuntal fullness of the ensuing Quodlibet.

Ok, fine, I’ll take his word for it. But here’s what I can say: Perahia’s performance is very, very beautiful. It glistens. It’s rich in tone. It’s effortless and highly polished. It’s really just about perfect. And the quality of the recording is as sweet as we’re ever likely to hear.

Gould, in contrast, though I think his 1955 recording was considered the last word in virtuosity at the time, seems a little rougher, a little less precise, a little less polished. But it also seems a bit more emotionally engaging; in certain variations he touches me a little more deeply. (Since I did this comparison a couple of months ago, I’ve forgotten which ones.)

Which is “better”? Well, I’m very glad to have both. If I were going to recommend only one, it would be Perahia’s. I mean, how can you argue with perfection? And among other things it includes all the repeats, thus making the recording half again as long, but giving a sense of mass and completeness to the work which a shorter version can’t do. But one does not always wish, or have time, to spend 73 minutes listening to one recording, and the shorter versions like Gould’s can be just as satisfying, depending on one’s circumstances and mood.

In addition to these two piano versions, I would also always want to have a harpsichord version available. I have Landwoska’s on an old and rather scratched-up LP, which I need to replace.

Here, for your own comparison, are the aria and a few variations from Perahia’s version:

And although I wasn’t able to find Gould’s recording on YouTube, here is a live performance from 1964 which includes the Goldberg aria:

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