VIKINGUR OLAFSSON’S GOLDBERG VARATIONS

I’ve been listening to this almost non stop and wanted to share some thoughts.

-The first thing that struck me when I started to listen was the sound of the piano it self. I have been listening to Glenn Gould’s 1955 version for years which I would define (sound/recording wise) as extremely dry. There is no sound room or space in the the recording its almost as if the microphones are in the piano it self. This on the other hand has a much broader and open sound. Which gives every thing a little more sweetness.

-Secondly (again in contrast to 1955 GG) I found the delivery a bit more smooth and legato, Though I always liked Gleen Goulds delivery (dry and unromantic) I found this recording again, to be a little bit richer and sweeter keeping the notes more connected. If you listen closely though the recording you can hear Olafsson use a really short and sharp left hand delivery which I think is a nice touch and can help create a little more contrast between the melodic lines.

-Over all I found the tempos to be a bit more relaxed than what I was use to. Even looking at the running time of these two records Olafsson’s is close to twice as long (I’m not sure if difference in repeats makes any difference in this). To my surprise I found I liked his tempos better than Gould’s. A number of the pieces are not super long to begin with, and then if you take them at break neck speed that makes them even shorter. For me this can make some of the transition for piece to piece feel a little abrupt in Goulds version.

-Probably my biggest complaint about Olafsson’s recording is in the aria (which is my favorite piece). The piece is broken in to two sections an, A and a B, and both of these sections are repeated twice (so it looks like this: AABB). I find repeat going into the second B section to be super clunky.