Bach: Goldberg variations / András Schiff (2LP)

András Schiff’s return to the Goldberg Variations on ECM’s New Series in 2003 (after a first account for Decca twenty years prior) was considered one of the decade’s great recorded achievements in classical music, with the Sunday Times speaking about “the result of a lifetime’s devotion to Bach,” that is “absolutely magnificent.” Released on vinyl for the first time – spread across two LPs – Schiff’s towering interpretation of Bach’s masterpiece now receives the deluxe reissue it deserves, packaged in a tip-on gatefold and accompanied by a high-quality 12-page booklet containing a “Guided Tour” of the Goldberg Variations written by András Schiff. At its conclusion he asks: “Isn't it understandable that every musician would want to play this wonderful work? Its deep humanity, spirituality, optimism and intellectual power speak to us directly in these 'distracted times'. This is one of those few journeys that can be repeated again and again.” As the New York Times said, “Mr Schiff is, in Bach, a phenomenon. He has quite simply internalized this music. He doesn’t so much perform it as emit, breathe it.” The fluency of the playing in this concert recording from Basel is quietly astonishing, the technical demands of the work transcended with uncanny gracefulness. “[András Schiff] has given the matter far more thought than words could ever express. His piano playing is calm and lucid, with tempos that are deliberately unassuming. He never plays the know-it-all or the experimenter; in his hands, every variation becomes a living, breathing entity. Yet his attention to detail borders on the insane. Because the Hungarian pianist plays every prescribed repetition, he creates space for his own methodology of deviation. New tonal shades emerge, like echoes that take on a life of their own, or dialectical manoeuvres in phrasing and articulation. Moreover, Schiff—drawing on a practice close to that of the Baroque tradition—comes up with embellishments so astonishing that one can hardly stop marvelling at them.”