Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord)
(Deutsche Grammophon)Everyone wants to record Bach’s Goldbergs,but not many present as much piercing insight as harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani. The surprises begin at once with a slightly simplified Aria and then some unusual tempi – the canons at the unison, third and octave are slack – and an unevenly tempered tuning for the harpsichord. Esfahani shows astounding rhythmic freedom at times, and sometimes teasing us with a long pause before a repeat starts. The final sequence of variations 26 to 29 accumulates brilliant excitement,after which the folk songs of variation 30 are a touching relaxation, and the Aria finally emerges intact. A hugely stimulating account of one of the peaks of western music.
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Source: theguardian.com