In 1955, Canadian pianist Glenn Gould surprised executives at Columbia Masterworks by choosing J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations for his debut recording. His performance was fast and fluid and sparkling and delicious, and it was an astonishingly big seller. In 1981, Gould came full circle and recorded the Goldbergs again. It was his last studio recording. That second attempt could not be more different from the first: relentlessly intellectual, percussive, insistent.
Outtakes from the 1955 sessions were released by Sony in 2018. Late last year, to honor what would have been Gould’s 90th birthday, Sony put out a package—with an 11th disc containing the 1981 album. This is not some nice Bach to play in the background during dinner; to reap any reward, the listener must work almost as hard as Gould and producer Sam Carter did. But for anyone with a deep love of Bach, Gould, the piano, or sound recording, there are many fascinating moments.
