Catalogue

Summary:

“as different as can be – yet without ever sounding contrived or perverse… Simply put, he makes the Goldbergs sound more like that other supreme set of piano variations, Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, than other pianist has. Several of these Goldbergs had me smiling, and a few of them made me laugh… this new recording is indispensable for anyone who love the work” – BBC Music Magazine ★★★★★

“By avoiding repeats and opting for fleet tempi, Pienaar produces a breathless, highly energised reading, and has room at the end of the cycle to include the 14 Canons on the bass of the Goldberg aria…These extras elicit some of Pienaar’s finest playing, and it’s disconcerting but in the end satisfying to hear the canons, discovered in 1974, added to the cycle as if they constitute a final, deconstructive commentary”. – Gramophone

Pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar opened the eyes and ears of the classical music world with his release of Mozart Piano Sonatas (AV 2209), earning plaudits such as Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice and CD of the Week from The Sunday Times. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations is destined to do the same. Pienaar’s probing intellectual interpretation combines with his dazzling finger work and perfect pianistic touch, to deliver a classic recording of Bach’s evergreen Goldbergs. As a bonus, he includes Fourteen Canons BWV 1087, based on the first eight bass notes of the Goldberg’s Aria, and Bist du bei mir from Bach’s Anna Magdalena Notebook, where the Aria from the Goldberg Variations first appeared.

Tracklist:

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)

Goldberg Variations
1. Aria (2:09)
2. Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. (0:52)
3. Variatio 2. a 1 Clav. (0:39)
4. Variatio 3. Canone all’Unisuono. a 1 Clav.(1:50)
5. Variatio 4. a 1 Clav. (0:58)

6. Variatio 5. a 1 ô vero 2 Clav. (0:33)
7. Variatio 6. Canone alla Seconda. a 1 Clav. (0:57)
8. Variatio 7. a 1 ô vero 2 Clav. al tempo di Giga (0:48)
9. Variatio 8. a 2 Clav. (0:45)
10. Variatio 9. Canone alla Terza. a 1 Clav. (1:27)
11. Variatio 10. Fughetta. a 1 Clav. (1:23)

12. Variatio 11. a 2 Clav. (0:54)
13. Variatio 12. a 1 Clav. Canone alla Quarta. a 1 Clav. in moto contrario (2:01)
14. Variatio 13. a 2 Clav. (2:52)
15. Variatio 14. a 2 Clav. (0:57)
16. Variatio 15. Canone alla Quinta. a 1 Clav.: Andante (4:13)

17. Variatio 16. Ouverture. a 1 Clav. (2:42)
18. Variatio 17. a 2 Clav. (0:44)
19. Variatio 18. Canone alla Sesta. a 1 Clav. (1:22)
20. Variatio 19. a 1 Clav. (0:50)
21. Variatio 20. a 2 Clav. (0:44)
22. Variatio 21. Canone alla Settima. a 1 Clav. (2:28)
23. Variatio 22. a 1 Clav. alla breve (2:37)

24. Variatio 23. a 2 Clav. (0:55)
25. Variatio 24. Canone all’Ottava. a 1 Clav. (1:53)
26. Variatio 25. a 2 Clav.: Adagio (4:22)
27. Variatio 26. a 2 Clav. (0:52)
28. Variatio 27. Canone alla Nona. a 2 Clav. (0:43)
29. Variatio 28. a 2 Clav. (0:56)
30. Variatio 29. a 1 ô vero 2 Clav. (0:53)
31. Variatio 30. Quodlibet. a 1 Clav. (1:50)

32. Aria da Capo (2:13)

33. Fourteen Canons, BWV 1087 (on the first eight notes of the bass of the aria) (4:41)

GOTTFRIED HEINRICH STÖLZEL (1690–1749)
34. Bist Du Bei Mir (from the Clavier-Büchlein vor Anna Magdalena Bach) (2:37)

Daniel-Ben Pienaar, piano

Recorded: 3 September 2010, Duke’s Hall of the Royal Academy of Music, London
Producer: Jonathan Freeman-Attwood
Engineer: Kirsten Cowie