Re: A State of Mal Wonder, plus William Kapell

today I had at last the time to check Iori Fujita's complaints about the "State of Wonder" reissue of Gould's Goldbergs. Yesterday I received the long-waited-for CD's (apparently, they are not yet available in Europe), and also had the time to look for my beloved copy of the 1981 original issue on LP, and also for the first issue on CD - my first CD ever!. I assume that, being the last recording published during Glenn's lifetime, he had complete control over it, and therefore it should put an end to all further discussions.

Surprise! As far as intervals between the variations are concerned, there is no difference between the three recordings. In the original recordings, there is a very sudden (and obviously deliberate and well thought of) transition between the aria and Variation n° 1, just what Iori Fujita objects most strongly to. I personally think that this is very effective, although many performers usually prefer lo leave an interval amongst the variations (most often in recordings, though: may be this is a choice of the engineers to make listening to select pieces easier?). The big difference between the editions lies in the sound quality: when compared with the LP, the original CD sounds, obviously, much cleaner (my copy is quite worn out), but also drier, cooler, and in some ways more "distant". The sound quality of the "State of Wonder" reissue is indeed much better and truer to life than the original CD .... although perhaps not as much as Sony would like us to believe!

Recently, I also had the chance to listen to the Super Audio CD recording: although I can't compare it point-to-point to the CD and LP versions, the sound seemed extremely impressive, especially as far as dynamics and brilliancy were concerned: on the very good HiFi system I listened to, it was incredibly true-to-life. I'm wondering if the SACD was remastered from the original digital or the analog versions: does anybody know the answer?

Anne Chrystine writes about William Kapell. He was for sure one of the most promising pianists of his generation, although, at least to my ears, some of his performances sound a bit outdated. I think that the very few Bach recordings he left (as far as I know, just the Partita n° 4 and the Suite BWV 818) are however very good. Sadly, he too died too soon!

?(JI bought "A State of Wonder" with a great expectation. And it made me confused. In fact the New 81 year edition is not authentic. Who on earth has got the permission to make this false version? Glenn Gould would not have allowed it to be published.
(B (JThe problem is that there are no intervals between the first aria and the first variation, between one variation and the next.
(B (J
(B (JThe time length between one variation and another is important.
(B (JAfter the first aria finishes, then the first variation starts and then ends, and the next variation starts..... The interval between one and another, let's say it the length of the silence, is an important factor for performance. Gould's silences or timings are excellent. The time length depends on the characters of the previous part and next part. We have to listen much carefully to the silences of performances. However it is not clear how to determine the time length of silence. If there is one thing, it could be the continuity of the rhythm. Of course one and next usually have a different tempo and/or rhythm, but there should be an inner and unseen continuity. The performance of Glenn Gould has an inevitable 'space'.