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Glenn Gould: Glenn Gould in Russia: Bach, Beethoven, Berg, Webern, Krenek
ByBut Gould's Bach was but one part of this musical psyche. Gould also had a great command of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, and the pianist had great respect for the atonal 12-tone composers of the Second Viennese School: Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern, as well as, Ernst Krenek. Gould enjoyed world-wide acclaim, maybe as much for his various eccentricities as to his superior command of the piano.
In 1957, Gould undertook a European Tour that included performances in Moscow and Leningrad, giving four performances in each city. That said, the performances on Glenn Gould in Russia: Bach, Beethoven, Berg, Webern, Krenek occurred at one of these eight shows. None of this music is unheard and is readily available on other labels. Cold War Russia was notorious for pirating clandestinely recorded live performances, releasing and re-releasing them ad nauseum on multiple labels all have illegitimate lineages. The pedigree of this present Urania Arts offering is, at best dubious, as evidenced by the complete lack of liner notes and the admission by the recording's producer that, ..."the producer was unable to trace the Author (or those entitles) of the picture here and on the cover."
However, the recording's pedigree says nothing about the recording save for the possibly poor sonics, which are certainly present. A combination of the period and inferior taping gives rise to an extremely muddy sound to the recording. I find this allowable if what we have is an historic performance, and this certainly is. Gould was, and is, a phenomenon we must often be reminded of. He plays the complete Three-Part Inventions, BWV 788-800, as well as complete readings of Webern's Piano Variations, Op. 27, Bach's Piano concerto No. 1, BWV 1052, and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 19. Gould is flawlessly precise in his interpretations, playing them with spirt and praise. While the historical worth of this release remains in doubt, the performances don't.
Track Listing
Bach: Three Part Inventions; Berg: Allegro form Piano Sonata No. 1; Webern: Piano Variations, Op. 27; Krekek: Allegretto piaceovole & Adagio for Piano Sonata No. 3; Bach: selections from The Art of Fugue, BWV 1080, selections from The Goldberg Variations, Piano Concerto No.1; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2., Op. 19.
Personnel
Glenn Gould
pianoGlenn Gould: piano; Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Ladislac Slovak
Album information
Title: Glenn Gould in Russia: Bach, Beethoven, Berg, Webern, Krenek | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Urania Arts
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