Dinnerstein's Goldberg Variations was recorded in the neoclassic auditorium of the Academy of Arts and Letters in New York in March 2005. The piano she plays, a 1903 Hamburg Steinway model D concert grand, was originally owned by the town council of Hull, in Northeast England. During World War II, Hull was extensively bombed and the town hall in which the piano was housed was severely damaged. The piano, however, survived intact and was used in a series of concerts after the war to restore Hull's spirit. In 2002, it was restored by Klavierhaus in New York City, in time to be used at the re-opening of the World Trade Center's Winter Garden, playing the same role as it had in Hull over fifty years earlier.
This is destined to be one of the best-remembered and significant classical releases of 2007. Simone (pronounced "See-mo-nuh") Dinnerstein has recently been attracting lots of media attention, from Oprah's magazine to The New York Times. Within a classical-music circuit increasingly unwilling to take artistic risks, hers has been the rare success story. The 30-something pianist (a former student of Peter Serkin), backing herself, wowed critics with some notable concerts and eventually secured the support of a major label to release a self-produced recording Dinnerstein had made in March 2005. This Telarc account of the Goldberg Variations thus marks her solo debut CD (following some earlier collaborations with cellist Zuill Bailey on the Delos label). For once, the publicity is trying to keep up with the musical achievement--rather than the other way around.
Dinnerstein's seriousness of purpose is immediately obvious from her choice of the Bach masterpiece to make her mark. With the specter of Glenn Gould's own epoch-making 1955 debut playing the same work--not to mention a vast catalog of competing interpretations--Dinnerstein is nothing if not bold. But what's really extraordinary here is the liberating sense she conveys of its not having all been said before--without resorting to tiresome idiosyncrasies to stand apart from the crowd. Her remarkably deliberate way with the opening aria is unusual, to be sure. But it establishes the stakes for what will follow, where Dinnerstein's thoughtfulness and spectacular clarity seem to discover new facets at every turn. Her pianism embraces a prismatic array of touches, whether the feathery lightness of Variation 5, the burbling rhythms of Variation 14, or the tragic weight of the "black pearl" Variation 25. The cumulative effect is exhilarating, intensely moving, and an affirmation of the Goldbergs' infinite variety. --Thomas May
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
There's a vast gulf between her and Glenn Gould:
Omig-d, valley girls, give me a break. This is no Glenn Gould. Grow a brain and turn off Oprah, would you please?
Good version of the Goldberg Variations:
Simone Dinnerstein, a former student of the great Peter Serkin, actually produced this recording herself. Given the very different responses to this recording, I had better make certain things clear at the outset. I am not a pianist. I am not trained in music. I have never listened to Glenn Gould's or Wanda Landowska's versions of the Goldberg Variations. I am listening to this as a musical amateur, trying to get a sense of Dinnerstein's performance. That said, this is a satisfying recording to me.more info
goldberg varations, landowska:
i ordered landowska, u sent me the pretty simone. i returned it to u. u sent it back to me. i sent it back to u. u sent it back to me. i gave up.landowska is the point, not the pretty simone tinkling the ivories on a PIANO.it is all about the harpsichord. wake up.
Beauty of Steinway in 1903:
Her performance is pleasant as the body is caressed. Not only pleasant, but the 14th and the 20th variation are aggressive. She has technique because she can neatly play the technical 20th, 26th, 29th and 30th variation. The 13th variation is the longest (5:15). The 25th variation is 4:20. The performance time of all is 78:20. However, because all the repetitions are done except the 25th variation, 78 minutes is not necessarily too long. There are a lot of tune with a quick tempos, too. After all the... more info
