Bach: Goldberg Variations (2011)

Pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar came from South Africa and was largely trained there. Very well equipped technically, he has a gift for unorthodox interpretations that he seems to have thought out on his own and to have developed the technical tools to execute. His thoroughly pianistic version of Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, will appeal to those who like Glenn Gould's versions, especially the earlier one. In the beginning, in fact, Pienaar seems to be offering a sort of updated Gould reading, without the humming. His ... Read More

Pianist Daniel-Ben Pienaar came from South Africa and was largely trained there. Very well equipped technically, he has a gift for unorthodox interpretations that he seems to have thought out on his own and to have developed the technical tools to execute. His thoroughly pianistic version of Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, will appeal to those who like Glenn Gould's versions, especially the earlier one. In the beginning, in fact, Pienaar seems to be offering a sort of updated Gould reading, without the humming. His attack is percussive; his tempos are pushed toward extremes, especially in the faster variations; his sensuous pleasure in Bach's collisions of spectacular figuration and harmonic mastery is palpable. As the performance proceeds, it enters more and more into new territory. Pienaar has some odd ideas. He plays many of the variations with only a very slight pause between them, but with the slow ones he necessarily takes more time. This deemphasizes the internal structure of the variations... Read Less