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REVIEWS:
Bach:Goldberg Variations dnd1013
Robin
Sutherland, Piano
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Newhouse
News Service by Byron Belt
Music of Bach soars on piano
"On two magnificent d'Note Classics compact discs, Sutherland now
has recorded what may very well be the most totally satisfying Goldberg
Variations available."
"As musically profound as (Rosalyn) Tureck, and with something akin
to a spiritual luminosity, Sutherland offers listeners 87 minutes of the
most inspired music it is possible to conceive."
For many people, including this enthusiast, love for Johann Sebastian
Bach's supreme keyboard composition-the Goldberg Variations, for harpsichord-was
kindled by the controversial and endlessly stimulating first Columbia
LP version by the late Glenn Gould.
The Pianist's rip-snorting romp through the fast variations and hauntingly
tender statement of the opening and closing aria and other meditative
moments, coupled with a generous omission of historically proper repeats,
made the Goldberg Variations accessible for a n entire new generation
who previously had been unable to absorb the music's genius.With love
of the music itself built on Gould's eccentric interpretation came the
freedom to accept and respond to approaches possibly more historically
correct and musically more profound. Purists may consider that Bach's
keyboard masterpieces cannot be truly appreciated on instruments other
than the harpsichord or organ for which they were composed. But the music
of Bach (1685-1750) thrives today on the modern piano. "Bach's Way
embodies an endless variety of possibilities," Ralph Kirkpatrick
said, and concluded with a ringing challenge-"Bach's way captured,
kills music, Bach's way followed, confers on it infinite life."
Rosalyn Tureck began her career as a virtuoso of legendary proportions,
and one with a special interest in contemporary American music. But a
passion for Bach soon consumed her, and many lovers of piano music have
no idea that she plays anything else. Purism has its drawbacks. Bach's
organ music suffered decades of almost total indifference during which
Leopold Stokowski's sumptuous orchestra transcription were all that kept
the master's works before the public.
Only the dramatic and musically passionate Wanda Landowska could attract
throngs of admirers to her harpsichord recitals of Bach and other early
masters. But Romantic pianists from Liszt and Busoni on dared to perform
Bach's greatest keyboard music on the modern piano.
The middle
years of this century were marked by the domination of Rosalyn Tureck, a
brilliant performer on both the harpsichord and piano, and a woman full
of stimulating notions on the interpretation of Bach that have had a major
influence on today's pianists and Baroque scholars alike. In performance,
published commentaries and music editions. America's great harpsichordist,
the late Ralph Kirkpatrick, served as an inspired bridge between scholarship
and pragmatic solutions. Though Kirkpatrick performed Bach and others only
on the harpsichord, he was anything but a pedant. Kirkpatrick offered several
points worthy of consideration in writings based on a series of lectures
given at the University of California in 1964. In "Bach's Well-Tempered
Clavier," Kirkpatrick said of playing Bach:
"Remember that Bach is not idiomatic keyboard music, but an imitation
of voices, instruments, or ensembles, and use the resources of the piano
accordingly." Take inspiration from the possibilities of the harpsichord
and clavichord and from what they may suggest to augment the resources of
ordinary pianism, but do not attempt to imitate them as such. Thanks to
VAI compact discs and video performances, Rosalyn Tureck's "Young Firebrand"
years are well documented and her Bach interpretations cover many works
including at least tow versions of the complete Goldberg Variations. Tureck's
most recent-and surely her greatest-Goldberg Variations were recorded in
St. Petersburg, Russia and are available on both CD and Video. Playing very
slowly, and leaving out not a single repeat, the VAI Tureck is being generally
received as the artist's supreme recorded achievement.In the expert opinion
of critic Richard Dyer, "Past 80, Tureck still commands an awesome
variety of touch and articulation matched by an even more awesome rigor
and severity. "Carried to this extreme, rigor becomes obsession, which
is a passion. Tureck arrived on the scene as the polar opposite of Wanda
Landowska, but she has paradoxically arrived at the same place: She enacts
the 'Goldbergs' as a profound ritual." Dubbed "The High Priestess
of Bach," Tureck performed as soloist, conductor and lecturer all over
the world. One of her major achievements was a series of public master classes
at her Lincoln Center International Bach Society. One of her most admired
auditors and performers was young Robin Sutherland, principal pianist of
the San Francisco Symphony.
On two magnificent d'Note Classics compact discs, Sutherland now has recorded
what may very well be the most totally satisfying Goldberg Variations available.
As musically profound as Tureck, and with something akin to a spiritual
luminosity, Sutherland offers listeners 87 minutes of the most inspired
music it is possible to conceive. |
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The Boston
Globe by Richard Dyer
"a
distinguished performancerichly musical and vividly characterizeda survey
of human experience and feelings"
There has been no shortage of admirable recordings of Bach's Goldberg
Variations played on the piano since the twin pillars of Glenn Gould's
two recordings in 1955 and 1981. The past few years have seen the appearance
of challenging performances by Andrew Rangell, Rosalyn Tureck, Sergei
Schepkin, Grete Sultan, and, at the head of the class, Edward Aldwell.
Now these have been joined by a distinguished performance by Robin Sutherland,
the pianist of the San Francisco Symphony. Bach has been an obsession
of Sutherland's for 25 years and more; he has performed all of Bach's
keyboard works. His recording of the Goldberg Variations represents a
rarity in the age of CD; it is complete, which means that it includes
all the repeats, which means that the performance lasts just short of
87 minutes on two beautifully recorded discs. Because of the luxury of
two discs, Sutherland, who can play as rapidly and as cleanly as anyone,
doesn't have to play everything as fast as possible in order to come in
under 77 minutes. Above all, this is a richly musical and vividly characterized
performance; the Variations are not just a compendium of compositional
and keyboard techniques but a survey of human experience and feeling as
well. Sutherland's playing balances proportion and clarity with feeling
and drama; he uses the repeats not just for architectural balance but
to explore additional expressive dimensions of the music. The recording
comes with superb program notes by former Globe music critic Michael Steinberg,
who asked Sutherland to play excerpts from the Goldberg Variations at
this wedding.
 
Classical
Musicians Shine in Studio
Bach: Goldberg
Variations, Robin Sutherland, piano. d'Note Classics. dnd 1013 (two CDs)
Sutherland, the San Francisco Symphony's resident keyboard specialist
for many years, is a fearless chap. In an age when scholars sneer at Bach
rendered on a modern concert grand, he opts for a big, resonant Bechstein
and makes heart felt music, rather than mere musicology.
What you get here is the sublime aria and 30 variations with all the repeats
and embellishments. Unlike Peter Serkin in his recent erratic BMG performance,
Sutherland exults in the score, setting an expansive tempo in the aria,
pedaling judiciously, then rising adroitly to the contrapuntal challenges
(as Michael Steinberg's note reminds us, they are more demanding on piano
than harpsichord).
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Sutherland's
Rich Variation on 'Goldberg'
**** Excellent
BACH:Goldberg Variations
Robin Sutherland, Piano; d'Note Classics dnd1013 (2CDs)
From the San Francisco Symphony's excellent pianist, Robin Sutherland,
comes a performance of the "Goldberg Variations" that is both
nuanced and extroverted. Playing a modern grand piano, Sutherland turns
the instrument's sonic weight to good effect by stressing the music's
dramatic side; this is a rich, full-bodied reading that invites a listener
to savor the work as a sort of novel in music or a 19th century opera,
full of piquant incidents and colorful episodes.
Certainly, the contrapuntal vein is there as well. Sutherland lets you
hear the intricate interlacings of the regularly recurring canons, as
well as the polyphony that infuses the rest of the work. But the main
thrust is toward a kind of lush expansiveness that serves the music wonderfully
well.
Joshua Kosman
American
Record Guide
Bach: Goldberg
Variations
Robin Sutherland, piano
d'Note 1013 (Allegro) [2CD] 87 minutes
Robin Sutherland, whose teachers have included Rosalyn Tureck and Rosina
Lhevinne has been pianist of the San Francisco Symphony for 24 years.
He has been devoted to this work since his student days. That he has mastered
its complexities is never in doubt in this expansive reading. Sutherland
offers an intimate, searching, loving reading, every repeat observed.
This is miles away from the emotional and intellectual intensity of Gould
or Lifschitz, but compelling on its own terms. His command of the work's
massive structure is complete. He always knows where he is going and is
a knowing guide. His Bechstein is recorded at just the right perspective,
close but not in your face. The release is further enhanced by Michael
Steinberg's annotation. He remains one of the most erudite and readable
writers on musical subjects on the current scene. The two discs are offered
at midprice and well worth the investment.
Linkowski
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Tulsa World
Robin Sutherland-Goldberg Variations-d'Note Classics
Critics have called Robin Sutherland - "the perfect Mozart pianist,"
and those who have heard his performances at the OK Mozart International
Festival in Bartlesville (where he is a regular guest artist) will not
question that statement.
However, Sutherland, the orchestra pianist for the San Francisco Symphony,
proves with this disc to be equally adept at communicating all the grandeur
and beauty in the music of J.S. Bach.
This two-disc set is a remarkable display of pure music-making. Sutherland
is not a self-indulgent player-there are no deliberate idosyncracies of
tempo or tone, no surfeit of "Self-expression." He approaches
the music cleanly, letting it speak for itself.
His attack mimics that of the harpsichord., so that the notes are always
crisp and bright, and he brings out the overall coherence of the piece
(once you start playing these discs, you will stay with them through the
end), as well as the distinctive beauty and zest of the individual pieces.
James D. Watts Jr., -World Entertainment Writer
Robin Sutherland
can also be heard with trombonist Mark Lawrence on another d'Note release,
Trombonology dnd1012.
To
Order: Bach's Goldberg Variation by Robin Sutherland
Return to d'Note Classical Recordings
© 2000
d'Note Records
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