# Favourite Goldberg Variations - Poll.



## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

Which of these great recordings do you favour the most? These are only for piano, as there would likely be too many options if harpsichord was added, but feel free to add your favourite harpsichord recordings in the thread.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

BenG said:


> Which of these great recordings do you favour the most? Please do not pick more that 3 options.


Which of what? :lol:


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## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

DavidA said:


> Which of what? :lol:


Sorry I was making the poll while you wrote that haha


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)




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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Are there any other baroque or earlier sets of variations which don’t follow the melody of the theme?

Are there other sets of variations with symmetries similar to the Goldberg Variations?

Is repeating the beginning at the end something other variation sets have done?


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## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

hammeredklavier said:


>


Wow, I just listened to that aria. Very moving playing indeed.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

1. Tureck
2. Gould 81
3. Rana
4. Schiff (ECM - Decca not very good)
5. Gould 55


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

When I got back into classical music about 15 years ago, Gould '55 was one of the first things I was blown away by, so I'm kind of partial to that one. I have the Perahia recording, and it's nice, but I never get around to listening to it. As they say, you always love your first.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

Mandryka said:


> Are there any other baroque or earlier sets of variations which don't follow the melody of the theme?


The most common practice is, that the variations first and foremost follow the harmonic scheme.



Mandryka said:


> Are there other sets of variations with symmetries similar to the Goldberg Variations?


not as far as I know.



Mandryka said:


> Is repeating the beginning at the end something other variation sets have done?


It may have been a common but unwritten practice.


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## premont (May 7, 2015)

BTW I have no favorite piano versions of the Goldbergs.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

Gould '55 for me, of these selections.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Andrew Rangell (relatively unknown, but worth a listen)


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

Definitely this:


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

1. Perahia
2. Gould 1981
3. Tureck latest recording (slow but still very musical and very different)


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## ledzepp (Mar 19, 2020)

Andras Schiff (Decca & ECM)
Murray Perahia.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Schiff - ECM*
Zhu Xaio-Mei
Peter Hill
Gould 81
Gould 55


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Sergey Schepkin (2008 recording)
Ekaterina Dershavina

If I had to pick from that list, Zhu Xiao Mei or Gavrilov.


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## SearsPoncho (Sep 23, 2020)

Schiff's early Decca recording. The only other recording I have is Gould's famous Goldberg from the 50's.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

TwoFlutesOneTrumpet said:


> 3. Tureck latest recording (slow but still very musical and very different)


This one?


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## Skakner (Oct 8, 2020)

*Gould '55
Gould '81*
-------------------
Perahia
Schiff (Decca)
Gavrilov
-------------------
Kempff

I voted for Gould '55.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Mandryka said:


> This one?
> 
> View attachment 144316


That would be her most recent recorded performance. I love it.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

View attachment 144319


I had no idea how good this is. after my first listen to *Beatrice Rana*, she would replace Peter Hill from my list. I should revisit *Jeremy Denk*, as well. And I haven't heard that later recording of *Roselyn Tureck*.


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Mandryka said:


> This one?
> 
> View attachment 144316


Yes, this one. Recorded in 1998, it spans 2 CDs.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

What about Angela Hewitt?


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Judith said:


> What about Angela Hewitt?


She's good but not among my favorites.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Her Bach playing has been widely praised, but I'm afraid I find it somewhat bland and faceless.


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## Skakner (Oct 8, 2020)

Judith said:


> What about Angela Hewitt?


Good but not among my first choices (her Hyperion recording).


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## BenG (Aug 28, 2018)

Wow, I certainly didn't expect Perahia to be on the same level as Gould.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

BenG said:


> Wow, I certainly didn't expect Perahia to be on the same level as Gould.


He isn't. Perahia is my example of a guy who is considered golden no matter what he records.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Too bad *Zhu Xaio-Mei* hasn't gotten any votes. I might have voted for her since I think highly of her recording, but she wasn't my first choice. Schiif/Decca is not for me, but his ECM is currently my favorite. Perahia is not among my top ten.

*Joanna MacGregor* is one I should listen to again.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

This is one work where I do have a clear favorite, Gould 81. I have about 20 recordings of the Goldbergs and I like/love many of them, but the Gould 81 is special to me and the one that has resonated the most with me since the first time I heard it.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

SanAntone said:


> Schiif/Decca is not for me, but his ECM is currently my favorite.


I also feel that the ECM version is a huge improvement over the Decca. In the ECM, Schiff is upbeat with an infectious rhythmic flow. On Decca, Schiff is mannered and plays as if he's on the sidelines except for one particular variation that's fabulous; I don't remember which one it is.


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## Caryatid (Mar 28, 2020)

There are dozens of very obscure recordings on Spotify, and I recently listened to samples from many of them, hoping to find some gems. If you want piano, this recording by Johan Hugosson can stand beside the better known alternatives:






Jimin Oh-Havenith's recording is also very good:


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## consuono (Mar 27, 2020)

Tureck a bit more than any of the others, followed by Schiff and Perahia.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Sad that *Zhu Xiao-Mei* received no votes in this poll - she has recorded the GV twice, her most recent in 2014. A documentary was made about her relationship with this work (and Bach in general), and while I've always enjoyed her recording of the GV, the earlier one from 1999, this most recent one and the film has brought me to a new level of appreciation.

I also like *András Schiff*, on ECM and *Beatrice Rana*.


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## Michael122 (Sep 16, 2021)

Lang Lang, who clearly produced the best performance this work, ever, was left off. An egregious mistake.
Suspect that was intentional.
So forced to pick "other", the 2nd highest choice.
Wonder what pianist all those "others" were thinking of.
Who could it possibly have been?


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

I quite like the performance by Pierre Hantaï


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

flamencosketches said:


> Gould '55 for me, of these selections.


Agreed. Fantastic!


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## FrankinUsa (Aug 3, 2021)

I’m confused about these “polls?” Who does the counting. 
Nevertheless. My most “standard” interpretation would be Pereiha. The special occasion would be Tureck,,,the last recording,,,,on DG.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Alexandre Tharuad / Igor Levit /Pavel Kolesnikov and recently David Fray, Those will do for me.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

Michael122 said:


> Lang Lang, who clearly produced the best performance this work, ever, was left off. An egregious mistake.
> Suspect that was intentional.
> So forced to pick "other", the 2nd highest choice.
> Wonder what pianist all those "others" were thinking of.
> Who could it possibly have been?


I do love Lang Lang's version.


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Op.123 said:


> I quite like the performance by Pierre Hantaï


That's my favourite one on harpsichord. On the piano I'm a Tureck fan.


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