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Bach: Goldberg Variations / Kato
Centaur Records

Bach: Goldberg Variations / Kato

$18.99

Details

Composer
BACH, J.S.
Artist
Sachiko Kato
Format
CD
Label
Centaur Records
Released
Feb 26, 2013
Catalog #
CRC3202
UPC
044747320229

About



BACH Goldberg Variations • Sachiko Kato (pn) • CENTAUR CRC3202 (59:15)


When this arrived in the mail, my first reaction was, “Oh no, here we go again; another Goldberg Variations by an artist I’ve never heard of before.” And after being so rattled by my grievous error regarding the matter of repeats in Daniel Pienaar’s recording, I had serious doubts about reviewing another Goldberg Variations ever again. Well, you know what they say about getting right back up on the horse after you’ve been thrown. Had I passed on this assignment out of fear, I’d have missed out on a truly extraordinary experience. For starters, forget that this is a recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations . It’s a disc you should have purely for the velvet smoothness and silken beauty of Sachiko Kato’s tone as captured by the One Soul Studios engineers in New York’s Klavierhaus Hall. This is simply one of the most gorgeous reproductions of piano sound I’ve heard on disc.


Now, of course, this is a recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations , and not being one to be burned twice, I listened to Kato’s performance with undivided attention and followed the score dutifully. Here is what I can tell you. She takes the first-half repeats of each variation, but not the second-half ones. More’s the pity, because in many of the variations’ first halves, she adds some of her own embellishments that tickled me with delight. Kato is an extremely imaginative player, and I would have loved to hear her embellishments in second-half repeats.


Beyond the matter of repeats and her own embellishments, Kato’s readings of the variations are so perfectly realized in terms of tempos, phrasing, and discovery of detail, particularly in the left hand, that one marvels at the utter naturalness and fluency of the music. Notice I said “of the music,” not of Kato’s playing, because she plays with such a sense of effortlessness and ease that it’s as if the piano is having its own joyous conversation with Bach. Listen, for example to the happy mordents and smiling trill-and-mordents in the second half of Variation 5, executed with such perfection that even at Kato’s rapid velocity, not only can you hear the difference between them, your ear can discern the number of squiggles.


I’ve long admired Angela Hewitt, Murray Perahia, András Schiff, and Craig Sheppard in this music, but Sachiko Kato’s performance is truly special, and for piano versions, I think it may now be my favorite. This wonderful Japanese-born, Los Angeles-raised, Juilliard-trained artist has yet to gain much of a presence on record—Amazon, as well as her website, lists only two previous releases, both of modern music, which Kato champions—but she performs extensively throughout the U.S. and Japan. To everyone who embraces Bach’s Goldberg Variations on piano, this deserves to be heard and is urgently recommended.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

Tracklist 32 tracks

  1. 1 Aria 04:05
    Track
    1
    Title
    Aria
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  2. 2 Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. 01:26
    Track
    2
    Title
    Variatio 1. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  3. 3 Variatio 2. a 1 Clav. 01:33
    Track
    3
    Title
    Variatio 2. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:33
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  4. 4 Variatio 3. Canone all'Unisuono a 1 Clav. 01:32
    Track
    4
    Title
    Variatio 3. Canone all'Unisuono a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  5. 5 Variatio 4. a 1 Clav. 00:50
    Track
    5
    Title
    Variatio 4. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    00:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  6. 6 Variatio 5. a 1 o vero 2 Clav. 01:05
    Track
    6
    Title
    Variatio 5. a 1 o vero 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:05
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  7. 7 Variatio 6. Canone alla Seconda. a 1 Clav. 00:57
    Track
    7
    Title
    Variatio 6. Canone alla Seconda. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    00:57
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  8. 8 Variatio 7. a 1 o vero 2 Clav. 02:10
    Track
    8
    Title
    Variatio 7. a 1 o vero 2 Clav.
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  9. 9 Variatio 8. a 2 Clav. 01:24
    Track
    9
    Title
    Variatio 8. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  10. 10 Variatio 9. Canzone alla Terza. a 1 Clav. 01:39
    Track
    10
    Title
    Variatio 9. Canzone alla Terza. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:39
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  11. 11 Variatio 10. Fughetta. a 1 Clav. 01:29
    Track
    11
    Title
    Variatio 10. Fughetta. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:29
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  12. 12 Variatio 11. a Clav. 01:30
    Track
    12
    Title
    Variatio 11. a Clav.
    Duration
    01:30
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  13. 13 Variatio 12. Canone alla Quarta. a 1 Clav. 01:50
    Track
    13
    Title
    Variatio 12. Canone alla Quarta. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:50
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  14. 14 Variatio 13. a 2 Clav. 02:42
    Track
    14
    Title
    Variatio 13. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    02:42
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  15. 15 Variatio 14. a 2 Clav. 01:36
    Track
    15
    Title
    Variatio 14. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:36
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  16. 16 Variatio 15. Canone alla Quinta. a 1 Clav. 03:23
    Track
    16
    Title
    Variatio 15. Canone alla Quinta. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    03:23
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  17. 17 Variatio 16. Ouverture. a 1 Clav. 01:42
    Track
    17
    Title
    Variatio 16. Ouverture. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:42
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  18. 18 Variatio 17. a 2 Clav. 01:31
    Track
    18
    Title
    Variatio 17. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:31
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  19. 19 Variatio 18. Canone alla Sexta. a 1 Clav. 01:16
    Track
    19
    Title
    Variatio 18. Canone alla Sexta. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:16
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  20. 20 Variatio 19. a 1 Clav. 00:54
    Track
    20
    Title
    Variatio 19. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    00:54
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  21. 21 Variatio 20. a 2 Clav. 01:26
    Track
    21
    Title
    Variatio 20. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  22. 22 Variatio 21. Canone alla Settima. a 1 Clav. 02:08
    Track
    22
    Title
    Variatio 21. Canone alla Settima. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  23. 23 Variatio 22. a 1 Clav. 01:07
    Track
    23
    Title
    Variatio 22. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  24. 24 Variatio 23. a 2 Clav. 01:32
    Track
    24
    Title
    Variatio 23. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  25. 25 Variatio 24. Canone all´ Ottava. a 1 Clav. 02:04
    Track
    25
    Title
    Variatio 24. Canone all´ Ottava. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    02:04
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  26. 26 Variatio 25. a 2 Clav. 05:08
    Track
    26
    Title
    Variatio 25. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    05:08
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  27. 27 Variatio 26. a 2 Clav. 01:33
    Track
    27
    Title
    Variatio 26. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:33
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  28. 28 Variatio 27. Canone alla Nona. a 2 Clav. 01:24
    Track
    28
    Title
    Variatio 27. Canone alla Nona. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  29. 29 Variatio 28. a 2 Clav. 02:10
    Track
    29
    Title
    Variatio 28. a 2 Clav.
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  30. 30 Variatio 29. a 1 o vero 2 Clav. 01:38
    Track
    30
    Title
    Variatio 29. a 1 o vero 2 Clav.
    Duration
    01:38
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  31. 31 Variatio 30. Quodlibet. a 1 Clav. 01:45
    Track
    31
    Title
    Variatio 30. Quodlibet. a 1 Clav.
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato
  32. 32 Aria da capo 02:48
    Track
    32
    Title
    Aria da capo
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Johann Sebastian Bach
    Performer
    Sachiko Kato