Track Listing

1. Aria
2. Variaton 1
3. Variaton 2
4. Variaton 3. Canon on the unison
5. Variaton 4
6. Variaton 5
7. Variaton 6. Canon on the second
8. Variaton 7
9. Variaton 8
10. Variaton 9. Canon on the third
11. Variaton 10. Fughetta
12. Variaton 11
13. Variaton 12. Canon on the fourth
14. Variaton 13
15. Variaton 14
16. Variaton 15. Canon on the fifth
17. Variaton 16. Ouverture
18. Variaton 17
19. Variaton 18. Canon on the sixth
20. Variaton 19
21. Variaton 20
22. Variaton 21. Canon on the seventh
23. Variaton 22. Alla breve
24. Variaton 23
25. Variaton 24. Canon on the octave
26. Variaton 25
27. Variaton 26
28. Variaton 27. Canon on the ninth
29. Variaton 28
30. Variaton 29
31. Variaton 30. Quodlibet
32. Aria da capo
33. Aria
34. Variaton 1
35. Variaton 2
36. Variaton 3. Canon on the unison
37. Variaton 4
38. Variaton 5
39. Variaton 6. Canon on the second
40. Variaton 7
41. Variaton 8
42. Variaton 9. Canon on the third
43. Variaton 10. Fughetta
44. Variaton 11
45. Variaton 12. Canon on the fourth
46. Variaton 13
47. Variaton 14
48. Variaton 15. Canon on the fifth
49. Variaton 16. Ouverture
50. Variaton 17
51. Variaton 18. Canon on the sixth
52. Variaton 19
53. Variaton 20
54. Variaton 21. Canon on the seventh
55. Variaton 22. Alla breve
56. Variaton 23
57. Variaton 24. Canon on the octave
58. Variaton 25
59. Variaton 26
60. Variaton 27. Canon on the ninth
61. Variaton 28
62. Variaton 29
63. Variaton 30. Quodlibet
64. Aria da capo

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72135 in Music
• Released on: 2007-05-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD

Customer Reviews

An achievement
What a spectacular progress in technology. Gould himself would have been much interested in this. It is rightful that Gould, and his Goldberg variation (1955) was chosen as the first project by Zenph. Question remains in whether he would have approved the release or not. In this recording, the definition of each tone is not sharp enough to represent Gould's persistence on precision. If Gould had known that this will come out with this timbre, not with the hard monoral, would he have played according to the same interpretation? On the other hand, one could simply enjoy this as one new version of his Goldberg. It might not have been as apparent if the same technology was applied on pieces like Chopin. In this regard, performance by Cortot (there is a rumor that Zenph is working on Cortot after Gould) might be juicy. In any case, this is definitely a unique achievement that provokes an argument on "the separation of composer, performer, and the audience" that Gould had intended in his time, as well as expectations for further technological advances. Worth a try.
In addition, could somebody reproduce his hum along with the piano performance? Stand-alone performance without the sign of Gould's presence is rather eerie.

Remarkable and Disturbing
I grew up listening to this recording, in it's original form, and frankly I wish I could be more critical. I could cite all sorts of references concerning the type of piano and the microphone placement etc... It would make me seem more credible. I could also state the obvious and say that Glenn Gould is not present in this recording. That might make me look even better. The truth is that I find this version of Gould's recorded performance interesting and of value. Not because it somehow replaces the "original" but because it lends, by it's clarity, additional insight into the man's genius without the distractions of a 1950's era recording.

I've been a performing musician for over thirty years (not a pianist and not a stereo enthusiast). To me, all recorded music, regardless of technique, is reproduction. This new technique does not in any way reproduce what a live performance by Gould would have been. But neither does anything else. A live performance is with a real musician on a real instrument in a real concert hall, before a real audience. Anything else is just another reproduction. So as a reproduction, this CD is wonderful. To judge it harshly because it lacks Gould's "presents" is not honest in that he is hardly "present" in any of the other recordings and to compare it to memories of a live performance would be equally unfair. Also unfair, and disrepectful, are the claims that this is in someway a "re-performance". It is not, in the same way as a stereo recording is not. Gould was not at the piano when this was "performed" live. Those who saw this performance did not see a performance by Gould, the simply saw a demonstration of the latest technology of music reproduction.

This recording brings up some disturbing questions: What is it that constitutes a musician's soul? Is it merely the sounds he/she produces or is there something else? Something that can't be defined by either the senses or the intellect? If you have only heard a musician's performances through recordings, have you actually heard them? Could it be that some of us find it difficult to like this recording because it seems to suggest that a person's genius can somehow be reduced to zeros and ones? What about reducing it to analog grooves in a plastic disk? Or punch-holes in a player-piano roll? Each method of reproduction has it's strengths and weaknesses. But none of them is the same as seeing Glen Gould, a young man at the beginning of his career, play this wonderful music. The best we can do is listen to reproductions and use our imaginations. As reproductions go, this one is among the best. As imagination goes, your mileage may vary.

Amazing Experience
I have lived with this historic recording through all its manisfistations - mono, enhanced mono, remix, digital remix and now Zenph rerecord. The reuslts are just incredible on this new release and Gould himself would have been the first to applaud.

These grumpy people stuck in the past are pains -- they are the same people who screamed when vinyl lp disappeared, still pine away for Milinov and the good old days.

Give yourself a thrill and listen to this disc with headphones - especially the one that simulates Gould's actual left hand- right hand playing - that alone is worht the price of the cd.