The Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould Plays Bach | 
 enlarge | Director: Bruno Monsaingeon
Actor: Glenn Gould
Studio: Sony Classics
Category: DVD
Buy New: $69.89
New (2) Used (5) from $43.24
Rating:  35 reviews
Format: Classical, Color, Dvd, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), German (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 58 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 48424
ISBN: 073891911X
UPC: 074644842494
EAN: 9780738919119
Theatrical Release Date: 1981
Release Date: August 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
Amazing ! March 14, 2009
Music Lover (W. Europe , USA)
I have to add this.
I have been listening to this DVD three times a night for the past year and a half. I listen to this religiously especially when I am dead tired or very depressed. Save my poor soul and carry me forward to the next day. It is an addiction.
If you plan to buy one, and God they are super expensive now. ask your seller and make sure it is in NTSC format or you can't play it on your entertainment center, but it will play on your computer.
Get one please, it will cleanse your soul.
Greatest Moment of Recording History January 12, 2009
Nejat BROH (Ankara, TURKEY)
How can i write, How can i describe my feelings.
One man spending his whole life through music, became music itself, and another man, after 250 years later, spent all his life through to understand and play 1st mans music.
Both of them were perfectionists, both of them were genius. One is God kind, other is prophet kind.
Glenn Gould has spend all his life playing Bach's contrapuntal music. He said once in a time '' I could not live without that music.'' He was also a pioneer in recording history. At least 50 years ago, he had seen the future, the recordings importance.
He started his carrier with Goldberg Variations recording, his deput recording, when he was his 20 ties. 30 years later, whom he was a man that not re-record his repertoire, his major exception was the Goldberg's.
I think that decision was his rightest decision of his life. If you watch this dvd, at the beginning, his speech about why he re-record Goldberg's, ''Stereo, breaking of consistency, etc.'' he accept the truth a little. His first recording was perfect in technically, but he was not ready for understanding the deepness of the Old-Grand Master's mega hit.
We do not know, for which reason Golberg Variations had composed. Some said that, Bach composed it for an old rich man, a Prussian -old Germany- ambassador, which had sleeping problems. Yet Goldberg's give soul a real peace and relief, -you can simply go to sleep when you are listening some of the variations, at the end- we never sure about that.
The score was perfect, variations are unique. And the most important is the order itself. Bach started his score with a simple Aria, just and only music, I think the best only music of all time, no one composed better than this. Than every kind of variation came, to the very end, we are at the higher levels, at 29th variation, the heavy metal of Bach, one of the heaviest of all time, then 30th variation, a theme from a folk song, we relieved again.
Like life itself, we again come to our starting point, the simple and the best, ''simple is the best always'' Aria, more slowly, we closed our lives with simple music. And only music, only sounds stay after live.. only music survives.
wauv,
What a score. Glenn Gould understood this, at his top height of maturation, he understood. With his all lifetime experience with Bach music, with contrapuntal music. His all technical power, his all abilities, he gave us all, at this recording.
Remember that, he played this piece at least 45 years, from his little child hood he played Goldbergs. This was the end, this was the best. Not best of his, best of all time. No one, in the humanity, in the history of mankind can play it better. He gave us all his life experience, with his companionship with Bach, he gave us simply the perfect.
(never forget, some variations has taken 30 or more times, to get absolute perfectness. This is what Glenn Gould is, this is what Bach's music is.)
If you ever listen Bach's mature perfect works from different recordings. You can easly see that, in every recording musicians can go further, improve their quality. This one is the only exception I have ever heard, only the one.
Thanks a lot for Bruno Monsangion for his directing, using his cameras at different angle, thanks the soul of the video.
Glenn Gould, I will always love you, this is the video, which changed my life completely. If there is heaven, if there is God -which i think not- you are with him, there, next to Bach himself, playing and making music for him.
If you ever like listen music, if you ever listen a music piece once in your life, please buy this video. No other recording in the all music history can be better than this. This is special, just buy it for yourselves, at midnight after every other people go to bed, open your player, put the disk inside player, and watch it.
You will understand me then. No more to speak, just silence.
Divine! September 30, 2008
Jeff Pollack (San Antonio, TX United States)
Let me begin by saying that the Goldberg Variations are somewhat of an acquired taste. Very few appreciate the Variations on the first listen...
Glenn Gould's 1981 interpretation is divine. The overwhelming technical prowess of his 1955 rendition has been superseded by this emotional and mature interpretation - what can only be attributed to the passage of years...
I listen to this every night at bedtime. It's simply beautiful.
What a Wonderful Document August 28, 2008
M. R. Sheffield (Herkimer, NY)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
An incredible DVD. Watch this and you will believe in magic. Simply incredible.
Essential! February 28, 2008
Ivan Gonzalez Lewis
Not only every pianist, but every musician must have this video. I think is a very important document to see a perfect mix between the pure baroque style and simultaneously a contemporary concept to understand this style. As I said before...Essential.
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