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Discussion: Bach: Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould

Posts: 22
Page: 1 2 3 next

Post by georgeflanagin August 29, 2006 (1 of 22)
I would like to pass along this thought to qualia8:

The /sound/ of Gould's piano may not have much to do with the recording, the microphones, the DSD mastering, nor any of the other things that went into the product you purchased. In fact, Gould had changed the action on that piano to give it the rather odd sound it exhibits, and he did his own (anti-)tuning. The only person who ever did a worse job tuning pianos was probably Beethoven.

You may not like what you hear, nor the sound the piano produces, but I think it is safe to say that it sounds to us in this recording like Gould wanted it to sound.

George Flanagin

Post by Beagle August 31, 2006 (2 of 22)
georgeflanagin said:
Gould had changed the action on that piano to give it the rather odd sound

Strange, I've played this disc (as rbcd) for over 20 years and never found the SOUND odd, nor heard others complain of anything but his singing/humming (which is why I haven't rushed to buy it on sacd).

Gould's PLAYING is distinctive, but not unique. His teacher, Alberto Guerrero, taught his students to hover with fingers just above the keys, and then strike each key and retract again "like a typewriter". This discrete attack permeates Gould's Bach*, and opens up acoustic space to either side of each note.

*but not all of his music-making, e.g. Mozart or Schönberg.

Post by ramesh August 31, 2006 (3 of 22)
I don't have this on SACD, and gave away the CD when the new transfer from the analogue backup tape was released, as this sounded better. That snatch of orchestral overdub seems to be in both the digital and analogue masters.

Does anyone have this on SACD as well as the analogue CD to compare which sounds better, and by how much?

Post by threerandot September 1, 2006 (4 of 22)
Beagle said:
His teacher, Alberto Guerrero, taught his students to hover with fingers just above the keys, and then strike each key and retract again "like a typewriter". This discrete attack permeates Gould's Bach*, and opens up acoustic space to either side of each note.

*but not all of his music-making, e.g. Mozart or Schönberg.

I guess this is why I cannot listen to Gould. Far too sterile sounding to my ears.

Post by pelley March 14, 2007 (5 of 22)
I'm confused. Is this SACD mastered from the original analog backup tapes (as one reviewer says)?

If it's not, then what was the original sampling rate? Since it was an early digital recording, my guess is that it wasn't much better than 48Khz, and probably wasn't even 20-bit. If that's true, then upconverting the low-res PCM to SACD doesn't make any sense and therefore this disc should not sound any better than a RBCD.

On the other hand, if it is made from the analog tapes, then how is it different than the "State of Wonder" version (other than being SACD vs. RBCD)? They made it sound like this was a new discovery in the State of Wonder liner notes, but this was years after the SACD was made.

Chris

Post by pelley March 15, 2007 (6 of 22)
Okay since no one is biting, I did a bit of careful listening to both versions.

Some of you may recall Stereophile reviewer John Marks' discovery of the "ghost orchestra" in the background, notably on track 16. This was first discovered on the SACD version.

When "State of Wonder" was released, Marks did a follow-up and noted that the new analog transfer was superior to the "PCM-derived SACD." I still wonder if that's what it actually is.

Anyway, after doing a careful A/B, I still think the SACD sounds better. But more importantly, I can still hear the "ghost orchestra" in the State of Wonder version! It's right there about 1:25 into the track, a big swelling of strings in the background. You can hear it best by putting your ear next to the right speaker during fairly loud playback.

Now I wonder if the original PCM version is the one that doesn't exhibit this problem? That's the only edition I don't own.

Post by Fugue March 19, 2009 (7 of 22)
Why is this disc so obscenely expensive? For $99US, he should be resurrected and playing live in my living room! :-)

Post by toddao March 19, 2009 (8 of 22)
Fugue said:

Why is this disc so obscenely expensive? For $99US, he should be resurrected and playing live in my living room! :-)

I purchased a copy a few months ago from Berkshire Record outlet for about USD 8.00. I suggest you check there to see if it is still available.
Sorry I just realised that it is the Zenph re performance.But at that price........

Post by DSD March 19, 2009 (9 of 22)
Fugue said:

Why is this disc so obscenely expensive? For $99US, he should be resurrected and playing live in my living room! :-)

Because it is an out of print collectors item, that is why it is not available directly from Amazon but only from Amazon Marketplace sellers. Click on the CD Universe link and you will see it is "Not available"

Some out of print SACDs go sky high, it is best to buy what you want while it is still in print!

As toddao said check with Berkshire Record Outlet as they specialize in out of print and overstocks at cheap prices, be aware they sometimes have a cut out hole or saw mark.

Post by zeus March 19, 2009 (10 of 22)
DSD said:

Because it is an out of print collectors item, that is why it is not available directly from Amazon but only from Amazon Marketplace sellers. Click on the CD Universe link and you will see it is "Not available"

If you look above and follow the link you'll see 3 copies in stock at amazon.co.jp for a not unreasonable price.

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