Bach: The Goldberg Variations 1955 Performance: Zenph Re-performance

A pale, antiseptic version of Gould.

I agree with all of the other reviewers who were disappointed by this CD. It's is a prime example of how computers can't really touch the artistry of a human being, at this point in time. I recommend his older recordings, which are lower fidelity but capture the performance of a manic artistic genius.

The Zenph computerized piano simply does not capture the correct dynamics, nor does it feel like you're listening to an actual human being playing (obviously because you're not!). All of the warmth, humor, angst, and simple emotion behind Gould's plays is lost entirely here. The sound quality is fine, but what is sound quality without great music to back it up?

Not recommended. August 6, 2008

GOULD BY ZENPH

WHAT A TREAT TO HEAR GOULD WITHOUT DISTORTION OR HIS MOANING. HOWEVER, AS WELL AS THEY PREPARED THIS PIANO, I WISH THEY USED A BETTER INSTRUMENT.
I AM IMPRESSED BY AND GRATEFUL FOR THE ZENPH TECHNOLOGY AND WILL PURCHASE MORE RECORDINGS.
I WISH I COLUD WATCH THE KEYBOARD DURING THE PERFORMANCE-PERHAPS A CD COULD BE PRODUCED TOO?
IF YOU'RE A PIANIST, YOU'LL LOVE THE VERSION RECORDED FROM THE PLAYER'S SEAT. GREAT STUFF! July 22, 2008

A novelty at best

This is like listening to a modern pianist trying to imitate Gould, yet falling way short. The "Zenph" lacks Gould's touch, unique phrasing, nuance, dynamics... and the piano used sounds nothing like anything Gould would employ (and he was VERY picky about the sound of his piano). This recording is a novelty; nothing more. May 31, 2008

This is not Gould

I'm a pianist who onws a good amount of Gould's recordings. and hundreds of other piano recordings, and I have done some recordings myself. I celebrate the technological achievements of this recording, but I think is just a marketing tool, that does not represent the actual original intention of the performer. PLEASE REALIZE THAT THE SOUND THAT COMES FROM THIS RECORDING, IS NOT THE SAME SOUND THAT GOULD LISTENED. Just starting from that point on, what you hear is like a photo copy of a famous painting. when music is played on a instrument, the sound travels through the air, and this is something that the performer works on all his life! The sound of a pianist is his signature, and this recording completely looses the Gould's sound. If you want to hear the real deal and feel the energy of Gould's performance of this or any other work, listen to the original recordings. Its just so amazing to hear how good and how great their sound was despite the technological limitations of its time.
In addition this recording opposses completely with the Gould's view of performing, missing the point of the music, and focusing on achieving a technological goal, having as a priority the sound of the recording, as an exibition. Music is beyond that. If you buy recordings for how they were recorded, fine. If you buy recordings for the performances? Good for you, you can really listen what is behind.
Thanks February 17, 2008

An extraordinary experience

Glenn Gould Goldberg Variations (and not Goldenberg as a hidden tag read by my computer indicates)is a classic: the classic of the classic is his 1955 recording - so different from the 1985'one. The 1955 interpretation is not so analytical as the later one-but it is brilliant, virtuosic, enthrallingly rapid: every superlative is fit to describe it.
The zenph re-performance (visit [...] to get the technical details) is a unique re-rendering of the original recording, as Gould' interpretation is replayed on another piano. The sound is astonishing, and in one disk, you get two versions. One is for a surround radio system; the other for headphones. When you hear the headphone binaural half of the disk - it is as if you ARE Glenn Gould, or at least, you hear the piano as if you were sitting instead of Glenn Gould.
Glenn Gould humming is missing-and that's the only shortcoming of this extraordinary disk. February 8, 2008

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