When Dmitry Sitkovetsky transcribed Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” for violin, viola and cello in 1985 in memory of Glenn Gould, who undoubtedly set milestones in Bach interpretation but by no means thought in historical dimensions, he was also starting from the spirit of the times. About playing with a lot of vibrato and the interpretative approach of transforming the old into the new time. That’s how you usually hear this arrangement. On Saturday, Benjamin Schmid, Benedict Mitterbauer and Matthias Bartolomey, who performed this work in the Ursuline Church as part of Musica Sacra, were completely different: they started from the historical sound and made it sound almost as if Bach himself had become famous in posterity Piano work edited.
A pure pleasure
Almost completely without vibrato, and if so then only as a fine decoration, the sound was extremely transparent and at the same time succinctly following the lines, the variations on a bass model that would otherwise have to be carried out by two hands on two manuals of a harpsichord were heard here.
The aim of the three musicians was to spread pure pleasure, to experience 30 completely different emotions in equally different musical forms on the journey back to the starting point – that touching aria that sounds at the beginning. This was achieved very convincingly this evening. Thus, these “Goldberg Variations” were more than just a fine “play” of an important arrangement, but an impressive return to the origins of this work, which was once dedicated more to entertainment than to philosophical consideration. (wruss)
Conclusion: Fascinating balancing act between original and arrangement.
