Album Description: Dinnerstein's Goldberg Variations was recorded in the neoclassic auditorium of the Academy of Arts and Letters in New York in March 2005. The piano she plays, a 1903 Hamburg Steinway model D concert grand, was originally owned by the town council of Hull, in Northeast England. During World War II, Hull was extensively bombed and the town hall in which the piano was housed was severely damaged. The piano, however, survived intact and was used in a series of concerts after the war to restore Hull's spirit. In 2002, it was restored by Klavierhaus in New York City, in time to be used at the re-opening of the World Trade Center's Winter Garden, playing the same role as it had in Hull over fifty years earlier.
Amazon.com: This is destined to be one of the best-remembered and significant classical releases of 2007. Simone (pronounced "See-mo-nuh") Dinnerstein has recently been attracting lots of media attention, from Oprah’s magazine to The New York Times. Within a classical-music circuit increasingly unwilling to take artistic risks, hers has been the rare success story. The 30-something pianist (a former student of Peter Serkin), backing herself, wowed critics with some notable concerts and eventually secured the support of a major label to release a self-produced recording Dinnerstein had made in March 2005. This Telarc account of the Goldberg Variations thus marks her solo debut CD (following some earlier collaborations with cellist Zuill Bailey on the Delos label). For once, the publicity is trying to keep up with the musical achievement--rather than the other way around.
Dinnerstein's seriousness of purpose is immediately obvious from her choice of the Bach masterpiece to make her mark. With the specter of Glenn Gould's own epoch-making 1955 debut playing the same work—not to mention a vast catalog of competing interpretations—Dinnerstein is nothing if not bold. But what's really extraordinary here is the liberating sense she conveys of its not having all been said before—without resorting to tiresome idiosyncrasies to stand apart from the crowd. Her remarkably deliberate way with the opening aria is unusual, to be sure. But it establishes the stakes for what will follow, where Dinnerstein's thoughtfulness and spectacular clarity seem to discover new facets at every turn. Her pianism embraces a prismatic array of touches, whether the feathery lightness of Variation 5, the burbling rhythms of Variation 14, or the tragic weight of the "black pearl" Variation 25. The cumulative effect is exhilarating, intensely moving, and an affirmation of the Goldbergs' infinite variety. --Thomas May
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Simone Dinnerstein plays Bach's Goldberg Variations
Bach: Goldberg Variations. If you've ever questioned the value of owning different interpretations of the same musical work, just listen to this interpretations and compare it to that of Gould, or Landowsa, ... Read More
Rating: - this is a fantastic recording
i have to start by saying that i'm pretty sure this is my first amazon review ever. years of using amazon, years of reading reviews here. but this is the first time i've been moved to contribute a review. and ... Read More
Rating: - I suppose that in some way..........
....that this piece shall always remind me of the scene in "Silence of the Lambs" where Dr. Lechter is listening to the Glenn Gould recording of it in his jail cell just before all hell breaks loose. Of course, ... Read More
Rating: - Terrible sound quality
Avoid this CD. The sound quality is downright awful. It is so painful to listen to this disk that any thoughts of a "performance" have to laid aside.
Having heard two equal CDs, I had to accept the ... Read More
Rating: - Unnecessary
With so many great Goldberg Variations around, one can't help but wonder where the need for this album is. Don't get me wrong, it's not actually bad, but neither is it especially good. It's OK if you're a collector ... Read More
- Simone Dinnerstein plays Bach's Goldberg Variations
- Terrible sound quality
- Unnecessary