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Recensie

Rondom de Goldberg Variaties (laatste deel van de Clavier Übung) zijn diverse theorieën. Speelde Goldberg wel de rol van de pianist, die de slapeloze Russische ambassadeur in slaap moest spelen (Goldberg was toen veertien) of is het de grote finale van de Clavier Übung? Daarover zullen de wetenschappers het nooit eens worden. Feit is wel dat het menig pianist talloze uren studie kost om de 32 delen goed onder de knie te krijgen. De innemende Franse pianist Alexandre Tharaud (dit jaar gast tijdens het Prinsengrachtconcert) staat borg voor een spannende interpretatie van Bach’s Meesterwerk, waarbij nieuwe details zelfs kenners weet te verrassen. Deze dagen speelt Tharaud specifiek Variatie 21: muziek dat troost.

Bach, J S: Goldberg Variations, BWV988
Limited Edition CD+DVD

Alexandre Tharaud (piano)

Music of the Baroque era – Bach keyboard concertos and Scarlatti sonatas – already features in the eclectic Erato catalogue of the French pianist Alexandre Tharaud. Now he is giving us his interpretation of one of the monuments of the repertoire for piano (and harpsichord), Bach’s Goldberg Variations. “Bach is the father of all composers,” Tharaud has said. “He is the one who opened the way. When I am tired, or not playing at my best, I return to Bach. He refocuses me, he gives me new strength. His music has a centre, but it has no end ... To play Bach, you need to feel in harmony with yourself, to feel humble – Bach really is a matter of humility ... You cannot hide anything.”

Published in 1741, the work – which lasts over an hour – comprises 30 variations on an initial aria. Indeed, Bach originally called it simply “Aria mit verschiedenen Änderungen” (Aria with diverse variations), but its commonly-used title derives from the name of the harpsichordist (Johann Gottlieb Goldberg) of Bach’s Dresden patron Count Keyserlingk. It was written for a dual-manual harpsichord, and thus makes considerable demands on a pianist’s dexterity in the contrapuntal writing. It also contains very little in the way of directions for interpretation, so all in all it represents a mighty and exciting challenge to the performer.

Alexandre Tharaud prepared for this challenge – and for his first concert performance of the Goldberg Variations, which took place in April 2011 in Barcelona – with nine months’ sabbatical from public performance. “By taking a break from the stage I had an opportunity to work without having to look forward, to be free of stress, not having to worry about my timetable. In our normal life, we musicians always have to be thinking about a forthcoming concert, whether it’s the next day or three years off. I had the luxury of examining just a few notes from every angle. It’s exciting to spend five hours on a single bar ... Perhaps it’s a question of maturity – of taking one’s time, questioning oneself, of simply being alone with the piano and working on one’s playing ... Like an archaeologist, I’m digging away at the unknown, I’m searching. That was why I needed to stop for a while, and above all to spend time away from the concert platform.” Once he returned to a more conventional routine, Tharaud scheduled groups of four or five performances of the Goldberg Variations at intervals of six months or so, all the while working towards this recording, which was made in February and April 2015 in Aix en Provence.

Almost inevitably, the spirit of the idiosyncratic Canadian pianist Glenn Gould (1932-1982) hovers around any new recording on the piano of the Goldberg Variations: he has been credited with transforming perceptions of Bach played on a modern instrument. Tharaud readily points out that the first CD he bought, at the age of 15, was one of Gould’s recordings of the work. “While I might describe myself as a free electron, Gould was more of a UFO! No-one played like him and no-one can play like him ... His playing, his reinvention of the music create a total experience that I find fascinating, and I learned a great deal from him ... The Goldberg Variations is a work that is renewed each time it is recorded. Generally, I am someone who likes to have my expectations defied, to have my assumptions challenged – whether we’re talking about my tastes or the way I live – and great works of art change your life.”

Tracks

Disc 1
1. Aria
2. Variation 1
3. Variation 2
4. Variation 3: Canone All Unisuono
5. Variation 4
6. Variation 5
7. Variation 6: Canone Alla Seconda
8. Variation 7
9. Variation 8
10. Variation 9: Canone Alla Terza
11. Variation 10: Fughetta
12. Variation 11
13. Variation 12: Canone Alla Quarta
14. Variation 13
15. Variation 14
16. Variation 15: Canone Alla Quinta
17. Variation 16
18. Variation 17
19. Variation 18: Canone Alla Sexta
20. Variation 19
21. Variation 20
22. Variation 21: Canone Alla Settima
23. Variation 22
24. Variation 23
25. Variation 24: Canone Alla Ottava
26. Variation 25
27. Variation 26
28. Variation 27: Canone Alla Nona
29. Variation 28
30. Variation 29
31. Variation 30: Quodlibet
32. Aria Da Capo E Fine
Disc 2
1. Vorspann
2. Aria
3. Variation 1
4. Variation 2
5. Variation 3: Canone All Unisuono
6. Variation 4
7. Variation 5
8. Variation 6: Canone Alla Seconda
9. Variation 7
10. Variation 8
11. Variation 9: Canone Alla Terza
12. Variation 10: Fughetta
13. Variation 11
14. Variation 12: Canone Alla Quarta
15. Variation 13
16. Variation 14
17. Variation 15: Canone Alla Quinta
18. Variation 16
19. Variation 17
20. Variation 18: Canone Alla Sexta
21. Variation 19
22. Variation 20
23. Variation 21: Canone Alla Settima
24. Variation 22
25. Variation 23
26. Variation 24: Canone Alla Ottava
27. Variation 25
28. Variation 26
29. Variation 27: Canone Alla Nona
30. Variation 28
31. Variation 29
32. Variation 30: Quodlibet
33. Aria Da Capo E Fine
34. Abspann

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