Bach, J S: Goldberg Variations, BWV988
Nick Van Bloss (piano)
This recording of the Goldbergs is individual, interesting, never routine...He repeats the first half of each variation, and less than half of the second halves, which adds a pleasing spontaneity...
Bach, J S: Goldberg Variations, BWV988
Nick Van Bloss (piano)
Purchase product
This recording of the Goldbergs is individual, interesting, never routine...He repeats the first half of each variation, and less than half of the second halves, which adds a pleasing spontaneity...
About
This recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations marks van Bloss’s first venture back into professional life since his retirement. Of his playing, Michael Haas says that “in polyphonic music, such as Bach, Nick offers a superhuman degree of precision and individuality with each voice, while never losing overall transparency,” and who feels that van Bloss’s Chopin and Rachmaninov are characterised by a “crystalline solidity” which enables him to build and shape works with total security and “achieve a nearperfect balance between vibrancy of keyboard playing and sweep of musical vision.”
In April 2009, van Bloss made a ‘comeback’ concert at London’s Cadogan Hall, playing a concerto by Bach and Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Concerto with the English Chamber Orchestra. The concert, uniformly reviewed as a ‘Triumph’ by London’s critics, attracted massive media interest from all over the world.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
May 2011
This recording of the Goldbergs is individual, interesting, never routine...He repeats the first half of each variation, and less than half of the second halves, which adds a pleasing spontaneity to his account.
May 2011
van Bloss goes his own way and beckons your attention in the process...[He is] fond of unexpected accents that further underline the jazzy "swing" that characterises his healthy internal rhythmic clock...Even considering that the catalogue is jam-packed wth recommendable piano verions of the Goldberg Variations, Nick van Bloss's stimulating traversal more than merely holds its own.
21st January 2011
That compulsion [Tourette's Syndrome] actually plays to the needs of a concert pianist, where precision is paramount, and Van Bloss employs it here to mesmerising effect...What makes Bloss's Goldberg Variations even more remarkable is that until a month before the session, he had never played the piece.
30th January 2011
The fluidity of line, the unforced lyricism – not always thought an allowable word with Bach, but just listen to this – and the clarity of structure and counterpoint make you sit up. In a crowded market, and in any circumstance, this is a rewarding Goldberg.
6th March 2011
The fast variations are a joy, bringing the intricate part work to life without that over-finicky precision that sometimes mars this piece. Bloss’s occasional beefing-up of the bass line will annoy some, but I found its joie de vivre irresistible.
