Customer Reviews for Goldberg Variations
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Anonymous
Location: from
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
November 7, 2008
No fingering
The material is all there; great variations, but there is no fingering, so you have to figure out yourself.
20 of 43 people found this review helpful.
David Spector
Location: from Waltham, MA
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
June 20, 2008
Standard edition of a subtle piece
Besides the music, this edition includes interesting background information, including hints about tempi for each variation and discussions of the keyboard figures used in Baroque music. The Goldberg Variations are at first glance not very difficult to play, yet they are extraordinarily subtle and reveal great beauty and challenges in timing with increased familiarity. They require a combination of strict adherence to tempo with a great need and opportunity for knowledgeable musical expression. Binding is "perfect binding", which is difficult to use with the piano, yet for some reason has always been standard for all Schirmer editions. You may find it convenient to cut the pages apart and rebind them using spiral or loose-leaf binding.
23 of 40 people found this review helpful.
RB
Location: from Nevada
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
June 16, 2008
Technical
Beautiful music with good layout - pretty technical as you progress through the variations, and you can certainly see that it would be easier to play on two keyboards...but well worth the effort.
18 of 37 people found this review helpful.
John
Location: from Cincinnati, OH
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
March 15, 2008
This edition was good enough for Gould
Glenn Gould used this edition and it is probably the best available, even better than the urtext edition and cheaper too. The person who wrote the review of the "songs" in this edition is completely wrong. This work of art is far from a song cycle; and it's level of difficulty is beyond intermediate- early advanced. This is a very challenging work to master. Highly recommended!
19 of 36 people found this review helpful.
Anonymous
Location: from
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
January 20, 2008
The best of Bach !
The Golberg Variations are wonderful because the songs are bright and variated . They are a great teaching tool too . I sat at the piano , trying it out , when I realised that they were the best of BACH!
19 of 42 people found this review helpful.
Andrew
Location: from New York
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
June 7, 2007
Great edition
This is a good version of Goldberg with an interesting preface and useful guidelines on ornamentation
7 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Norman Chapman
Location: from Holly Springs, MS
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
May 25, 2006
Good therapy
Bach described this as keyboard practice--keyboard work--and I have found all my life that it is some of the (actually THE most) reqarding and stablizing and reliable and friendly piece of music for me to return to over and over. The reviewer from Greece correctly alluded to the variety Bach incorporated. It is right up there with the Chopin Etudes as far as being good for your playing is concerned. And you never tire of the music because it is so artfully constructed.
5 of 8 people found this review helpful.
Athanas
Location: from Thessaloniki, Greece
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
November 15, 2004
..a choice for the selective executant
This work is not to be overlooked easily. I believe that anyone who wishes to be a master in being able to improvise on a certain theme ought to keep this work in mind. 3types of variations may be distingished in the Goldberg work: The 1st type develops a particular character, the 2nd is more of a playful fashion, and the 3rd type in the form of a canon.These 3 types are linked in groups of three:For the constitution of a character there is a polonaise(no.1), a hopping dance(no.4) gigue(no.7), fughetta(no.10), aria (no.13) overture(no.16) whirling-dance(no.19) fuga allabreve(no.22)aria(no.25) and a study in the use of the trill(no.27).Regarding the two-part canons, we havenos.3,6,and so on until the 27th).For a final we have the last variations with are mainly a witty blending of various melodies.The work ends with the opening piece, so as to complete the circle and leave us a feeling of wholeness. A selective choice for anyone wishing to study thourouly the art of variation.
4 of 9 people found this review helpful.
W. B. Pritchard
Location: from Aliso Viejo, CA
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
April 2, 2002
Unfortunate
Too bad the previous (and only) review has nothing to do with the product. If you are interested in attempting to learn to play this work (or parts thereof) or just interested in having a score to read while listening then you should have this. For those interested in attempting to play the music the Ralph (not John) Kirkpatrick edition has outstanding realizations of the sometimes confusing ornamentation disignations (this alone makes the edition well worth having) as well as wealth of comprehensive background data. It's one deficiency is an absence of fingering indications. For that you will need an additional edition.
6 of 10 people found this review helpful.
richard hillier
Location: from Cape Town South Africa
Difficulty Level:
Advanced
August 11, 2000
Wonderful music
You must get both Gould recordings of this music: from the beginning and the end of his career. The aria was sent into outer space on one of the Voyager probes so in a few million years time the Alpha Centaureans will also groove to these jazz tunes. But in the meantime, you heard it here first, folks! JS Bach is really where it's at and this piece is where it's all happening.
5 of 10 people found this review helpful.