A month for music.
written by Julie R. Neidlinger 2 comments link this postBack in May, I had planned to write about Bach's Goldberg Variations.
May was a good month, and I felt like writing about beautiful music. The Variations have always eluded me on the piano. I can't do the math Bach requires, the multiple notes against each other. All but the Aria escapes me in the first measure. The Aria loses me by about the twelfth measure.
But such beautiful music.
That was in May.
June was rockier, and my writing never left the draft form in my journal.
The last half of June dropped World Magazine in my lap, and what should I find on their "Notable CDs" page in the June 16, 2007 issue, but a reference to Glenn Gould's best-selling 1955 performance, "newly" released by Zenph using their new technology to re-release a classic performance.
Bach: Goldberg Variations (Zenph Re-performance) | Glenn Gould
Style: A Baroque "Aria with Diverse Variations" (Bach's title) originally composed for the harpsichord but now identified (thanks primarily to Gould) with the piano.
Worldview: That there is no better way to mark the 25th anniversary of Gould's death than to use his most famous (and bestselling) recording as the basis to debut a fascinating re-creational technology.
Overall quality: A 20th-century masterpiece presented in the most mind-bogglingly pristine method imaginable.
[...]
Spotlight | Glenn Gould
The occasion of Sony Classical's latest version of Glenn Gould's landmark 1955 recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations is the 25th anniversary of Gould's death. The gimmick is the composition's "re-performance" by a piano equipped to respond to a computer-encoded reading of Gould's original performance as overseen by the wizards at Zenph Studios. Other than its elimination of Gould's trademark humming, the artifact is not only flawlessly faithful but also metaphysically suggestive: Zenph unveiled its creation last year by inviting friends of Gould to witness an "invisible Gould" perform. Thus Zenph has enabled dead pianists to "live" again.
Should anyone but technology-obsessed musical perfectionists care? Yes (for obvious reasons) and no: There's something to be said for "moving on" and "letting go," not to mention for recoiling from the technology's being abused to resurrect the likes of Elton John. And, frankly, Gould without the humming isn't full Gould ("fool's Gould"?). As a technology-obsessed musical perfectionist himself, however, Gould would've loved it.
I almost resurrected my post, but I just couldn't do it.
Then there was July. I felt like I couldn't do the math in many areas of my life, let alone Bach.
I added Gould's CD to my Amazon Wish List.
Then August. The sweetness of the Aria would have been perfect for the month -- needed -- except that it seemed as if I was the one playing it, on an off-tune piano, humming. August was not a month for Bach, either.
And then there came September.
And a generous reader of this blog, who surprised me with his generosity and the CD in the mail, the pinnacle of my day after a long day of work.
How is the album?
Absolutely beautiful. I've teared up three times so far. Absolutely beautiful.
A fine September.
(Thank you, M.T.)
Labels: music, my life, reader input
Copyright (c) Julie R. Neidlinger 9/27/2007 08:05:00 PM
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2 Comments:
Julie,
Did you get the original recording or Zenph re-performance? While I am sure the re-performance is excellent, I would have to agree with the statement that "Gould without the humming isn't full Gould ("fool's Gould"?)."
I have had a copy of the original for several years now, and it never fails to inspire me.
By 
Will, at
27/9/07 22:36
I am the proud, new owner of the Zenph re-release.
I can't comment on the album with Gould's humming, but I have to say that this CD is...fabulous. It is.
You should get a copy and compare the sound (sans humming comparison, of course).
By 
Julie R. Neidlinger, at
27/9/07 22:38
