Johann Sebastian Bach - Goldberg Variations (Lang Lang)

Information

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach

• CD1 & CD2: Studio Recording: Berlin, Jesus-Christus-Kirche, 15–18 March 2020
• CD3 & CD4: Live Recording: Leipzig, St. Thomas Church, 5 March 2020

Lang Lang, piano

Date: 2020

Label: Deutsche Grammophon

https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/bach-goldberg-variations-lang-lang-deluxe-12025

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Review

Hearing Murray Perahia, András Schiff or Angela Hewitt in Bach’s Goldberg Variations is akin to absorbing a substantial literary work. Lang Lang, however, offers the musical equivalent of a cinematic epic directed by Robert Altman or Steven Spielberg, with all repeats intact, including the Aria da capo. His Goldbergs are vividly detailed (sometimes to garish effect), markedly diverse in mood and expression, meticulously thought out in terms of style yet highly subjective, and brilliantly yet not brainlessly virtuoso.

The Aria alone indicates what to expect via the pianist’s expansive legato lines, chiaroscuro balances and lavish ornaments on the repeats. Following a joyous and incisive first variation, Var 2 settles into a lovingly inflected groove that extends into a billowy Var 3. Like most pianists who start the cross-handed Var 5 at an optimistic clip, Lang Lang’s tempo slightly slows down as the music proceeds; ditto with Var 17. The canonic voices in the spaciously paced Var 9 seemingly emanate from separate pianos, while the often dragged-down Var 12 (the canon at the fourth) gets a refreshingly vigorous reading. At first one fears that the introspective Var 13 will wilt under Lang Lang’s muted cantabile touch, yet the variation gains force and sinew as it progresses.

In the second half of Var 16 (the French Overture), Lang Lang infuses a dash of ferocity to the usual lilt by laying into the bass lines, although Var 18’s self-aware dynamic dips border on archness. You’d assume that this pianist would speed through Var 20’s vertiginous, cascading challenges. Yet his understated approach and attention to off-beats brings the music’s two-manual orientation into focus. The celebrated ‘Black Pearl’ minor-key Var 25 belies its 10-minute duration due to the pianist’s rapt concentration and long-range dynamic gradations. The crisp and spirited Vars 26-29 give way to the Quodlibet (Var 30), where Lang Lang’s rumination assiduously eases into the final Aria.

No major differences distinguish the studio recording from the unedited live performance, save for the latter’s more impetuous faster variations, where Lang Lang’s facile fingers take unbridled wing. With both versions bundled together, one doesn’t need to choose between studio discipline over in-concert playfulness or vice versa. Although fans of the aforementioned pianists may take issue with Lang Lang’s affettuoso temperament, the consistency of his interpretative vision and his ability to carry it out with conviction and authenticity add up to an entertaining and fulfilling listening experience.

-- Jed Distler, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2020/Sep/Bach-Goldberg-4819701.htm

https://theclassicreview.com/album-reviews/review-bach-goldberg-variations-lang-lang-piano/

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/sep/10/bach-goldberg-variations-review-lang-lang

https://www.allmusic.com/album/bach-goldberg-variations-mw0003403775

https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Goldberg-Variations-CD-Deluxe/dp/B089TWSBDT

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Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bach enriched established German styles through his mastery of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from Italy and France. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Sebastian_Bach

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Lang Lang (born 14 June 1982 in Shenyang, Liaoning, China) is a Chinese concert pianist. He studied with Zhao Ping-Guo at the Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music, and with Gary Graffman at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Lang Lang has given recitals and concerts in many major cities and was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and some top American orchestras. He has also received many awards and made many television appearances. His performance style is controversial but "has the flair and great communicative power".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lang_Lang_(pianist)
http://langlang.com/

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