I read somewhere that
Jandó is now the world’s most
recorded pianist. He certainly has considered
and imaginative things to say about
the Goldberg Variations though as ever
in this of all works not everything
he does will convince. His non-doctrinaire
approach is welcome, he takes the repeats,
and he cultivates depth, not least in
his daringly slow Black Pearl. To specifics,
then. He highlights the middle voicings
in the Aria, making a diminuendo on
the first repeat, and making distinct
tempo fluctuations in the second. He
gives an etched bass kick to Variation
1, deliberately cultivates a rather
laboured right hand in No.2, and in
the first canon tends to hold back momentum.
He’s not unaware of the humour either
– there’s a slightly mechanical humorous
element to No.5 and a rallentando to
end No.6. Sometimes voicings are confused
and sometimes he doesn’t really lift
– here I think specifically of No.10,
the Fugetta.
Still he has clearly
pondered long and hard on voicings and
tempo relations amongst much else. If
I find something rather literal and
treble shunning about No.11 and the
trill in the fourth canon unattractive
others may well disagree. Oddly No.13,
though it takes 4.05, sounds rather
fast – a question of articulation and
phrasing rather than pure tempo – and
a certain heavy handedness seems to
cast a pall over Nos 15 and 16, the
fifth canon (where he definitely doesn’t
stop to admire the roses). As I said
the Black Pearl takes a good ten minutes
but it’s the succeeding variations that
most disappointed me. There’s something
of a lack of cumulative energy and logical
drive that lets down Jandó; the
ninth canon just sounds too immobile
and on a practical level the engineers’
pause between variations 29 and 30 is
too long; the Aria, when it return,
does so therefore with a corresponding
lack of tension and feeling, which is
a shame.
Adequately though not
optimally recorded over four days in
the Phoenix Studios in Budapest this
disc attests to Jandó’s dedication
to the core repertoire. But next to
Hewitt, say, it must cede recommendation,
even at budget price - there’s little
point paying less for the Goldbergs.
Jonathan Woolf
See also
review by Don Satz
Early
Music
Jenő Jandó (piano) 
