Bach: Goldberg Variations
The clear-cut rhythms, riveting articulation, and contrapuntal acumen of  Glenn Gould's1955 debutGoldberg  Variationscharacterize this 1981  remake to strikingly different results. This later version is more deliberate in  pacing, stark in expression, thoughtful with ornamentation, and tightly  organized (if a mite theatrical) in terms of tempo relationships. Whereas there  are no repeats from 1955, Gould now observes "A" section repeats in  the canons, the Fughetta, and other fugue-like variations. The rapid, cross- handed sequences still dazzle with pinpointed fingerwork, yet the slower tempos  better serve the music's dance-like qualities. Unlike Sony Classical's better  sounding Glenn Gould Edition transfer, the original CBS Masterworks CD still has  no banding cues.--Jed Distler