Best recordings of the Goldberg Variations ever?

For the third of our 2012/13 Cafe Concerts, three of Southern Sinfonia's finest players are coming together to perform a very special arrangement of JS Bach's Goldberg Variations (for string trio). With this in mind, we've been having a think about some of the best recordings of the Goldberg Variations ever and here are some of your suggestions...

1. Glenn Gould - 1955

‘A performance that I shall treasure, for it has the kind of architecture in tone which is often longed for but rarely found.’ (Gramophone)

2. Glenn Gould - 1981

‘This is surely the finest of Gould’s recordings.’ (Gramophone)

3. Angela Hewitt

'This is Bach on the piano of the highest quality imaginable' (The Guardian)

 4. Murray Perahia

‘Murray Perahia’s Goldberg Variations aren’t just colourful, or virtuoso, or thorough in terms of repeats, but profoundly moving as well’. (Gramophone)

 

5. András Schiff

‘It's astonishing that this note-perfect recording was taken from a live performance (in Basel)’ (BBC Music Magazine)

 

6. Rosalyn Tureck

‘Under her amazing fingers the piano barely seems a percussive instrument at all: in places she sings, strokes or caresses, in others she seems to pluck or strum, but rarely does she hit. Her sound has an incredible warmth and intimacy, with awesome control and articulation at the softest dynamics.’ (Gramophone)

Alexander Hohenthal, Heather Tuach and Colin Scobie perform JS Bach's Goldberg Variations on 23 November at Corn Exchange, Newbury. For more information, please visit our website.