Review: Bach - Goldberg Variations- Vikingur Ólafsson (2023)

Vikingur Ólafsson’s aim to record the Goldberg Variations has, in his own words, been 25 years in the making. And with a well-received album of some of Bach’s shorter works in 2018, the anticipation is high. Listeners will no doubt be curious to hear his approach to this much longer form work.

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Whether it be Bach, Mozart, Debussy, or Glass, I’ve found that Ólafsson has always approached the music with a unique style that manages to be simultaneously cerebral and artistically nuanced. The Aria certainly speaks to this: his tone is clean as a bell and the contours are smoothly minimalistic. Minimalism also seems the approach to the repeats: Ólafsson doesn’t engage in extensive ornamentation during the second iteration — perhaps a disappointment for those hoping to hear his take on improvisation.

Variation 1 sprints out of the gate quite literally. While the pianist’s neat and clean articulation is again to be fully enjoyed, the variation’s dance-like character is not there. András Schiff, on all his versions but especially his 1986 Decca version, takes his time but with the benefit of revealing the buoyant rhythms. Variation 5 reflects a similarly light-handed approach which, in this case, proves more problematic: yes, the performance is admittedly elegant, but the melody and phrases call for a much more jovial character which is absent. Variation 6, while meant to be a display of dazzling virtuosity, blitzes by so quickly that we barely have time to appreciate Ólafsson’s stellar fingerwork. Small accents of nice contouring prevent it from sounding mechanical, but I couldn’t help but wonder what the hurry is for. Beatrice Rana’s recording does a better job of blending technicality with a spirited and playful personality: Her slightly slower tempo maintains momentum while illuminating her approach to articulation and subtle phrasing.

Where Ólafsson is at his best are in the contrapuntal variations which are approached with thoughtfulness. In 9, the vocal dialogue is finessed with each line having its own presence and personality; variation 15 features faultless attention to Bach’s intricate counterpoint.

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As for the second half, we’re greeted by a minor variation (16) that allows for some welcome respite and a chance to fully experience Ólafsson’s signature tone quality and Bach’s architecture of voicing. The melancholy character here is aptly expressed in the pianist’s mellow lyricism. Some issues return in the next variation, which features robust runs but fails to capture the pomp and circumstance of the Ouverture character. Dynamics levels remain largely the same (and fairly loud) and the dimensionality offered in Fazil Say’s version, which I reviewed last year, is missing. Say’s interpretation proves more convincing in how he makes some interesting and lovely subito dynamic changes with the arrival of different tonal centers.

In the final variations, 30 offers up a bold symphonic character with its interlocking chords. The flurry of intermittent notes are effective, but also border on sounding frantic. Turn to Lang Lang’s version (DG) and we hear how the two-note octave figures have ample and persuasive emphasis and serve as a rhythmic anchor. The fast passages aren’t overdone and, at a softer dynamic, create pleasing filigrees. The Quodlibet variation (31) fortunately ends things on a strong note: pacing is good and Ólafsson switches up articulation and dynamics in choice moments. The emphasis on some inner voice material creates a joyful conversation that also feels like an arrival after a long journey.

As he’s done on his previous albums, Ólafsson provides his own foreword and analysis, which is always welcome in works so oft-performed like the Goldbergs. Particularly intriguing is his contemplation of this piece as an exploration of what he terms ‘interpretative improvisation’. If only his performance could have better embodied this intriguing sentiment.

As much as I’d hoped to enjoy this performance given Ólafsson’s previous successes, I have to say that I was largely disappointed. The artistry he’s shown in other recordings is wanting in a performance that feels too rushed and, in some ways, uniform. Other referenced recordings, satisfying in terms of variety of characters across different variations, remain preferred listening points.