Murray Perahia reviews

Murray Perahia (Deutsche Grammophon)

Recordings of the Goldberg Variations are lying thick upon the ground nowadays and choosing a version becomes ever more difficult. Bach wrote his great set of variations for a two-manual harpsichord, stipulating in the interests of contrapuntal clarity the use of both keyboards in 11 of the 30 variations. It’s an obstacle which can easily be overcome by pianists, yet the conviction with which they carry it off greatly varies. Murray Perahia is one of our finest Bach pianists, as his recent recordings of the English Suites confirm. His Goldbergs flow mellifluously with fine linear clarity.