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Special offer. Holloway, R: Gilded Goldbergs
for two pianos, after J S Bach
The Micallef-Inanga Piano Duo
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, February 2002, Disc of the Month
Holloway's initial prompt for these stunning two-piano transcriptions of Bach's Goldbergs, was his frustration as a single pianist at his 'inability to clarify the close-weave canons or manage...
Special offer. Holloway, R: Gilded Goldbergs
for two pianos, after J S Bach
The Micallef-Inanga Piano Duo
Purchase product
Awards:
-
Gramophone Magazine, February 2002, Disc of the Month
Holloway's initial prompt for these stunning two-piano transcriptions of Bach's Goldbergs, was his frustration as a single pianist at his 'inability to clarify the close-weave canons or manage...
About
Robin Holloway writes in his notes for this record that 'It seems both odd and foolish to take one of the acknowledged pinnacles of western music and 'recompose' it'. But his 'Goldberg adventure' (as he calls it) began with modest aims as a didactic piece. Frustrated as a single pianist by inability to clarify the close-weave canons or manage the more fiendish hand-crossing so idiomatic on a twomanual harpsichord, he began to transcribe a few for two pianos. Over the next few years he became absorbed with the task and ended up with another 30 completely new 'Goldberg' variations which have delighted and entertained audiences who've been lucky enough to hear the work. Here it is played by the exciting Micallef-Inanga Piano Duo who have made a speciality of the piece. Since it plays for 120 minutes two discs are needed to accommodate it, so here they are for the price of one.
Contents and tracklist
- The Micallef-Inanga Piano Duo
Awards and reviews
-
Gramophone MagazineFebruary 2002Disc of the Month
2010
Holloway's initial prompt for these stunning two-piano transcriptions of Bach's Goldbergs, was his frustration as a single pianist at his 'inability to clarify the close-weave canons or manage the more fiendish hand-crossing numbers so idiomatic on a two-manual harpsichord'. So far, so pleasurable – but then inevitably the full artistic implication of what he was doing struck home. It was only later, after much agonised self-questioning, that he decided to 'go for the gilding and lose the guilt!' Bach's original is thrown in at the deep centre of a swelling harmonic sea, sometimes as a moment of ineffable calm (Variation 18, a 'canon in sixths'), at other times more like an oncoming tidal wave (Variation 29, 'Toccata with clusters'). The use of modulation is often alarming but always musically effective and never more so than in an ingenious re-working of the closing 'Quodlibet' (Variation 30), which traverses 'all 12 keys', ending in D. Holloway's ear for nuance, and the ingenuity of his invention, will leave you openmouthed with admiration. Whatever your CD priorities to date, this one surely has to fly straight to the top of your wants list.
