Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
          Solo Keyboard Music

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (1741)
Jeno Jando, piano
Recorded Phoenix Studio, Budapest, February 2003
Released January 2005
Naxos 8.557268 [77:29]

The Performer - Believe it or not, Jeno Jando has more recordings in the
catalogs than any other pianist.  More than a 'house pianist' for Naxos,
he is a production machine and all machines break down now and then.

Jando has recorded Bach before.  Specifically, he recorded Bach's complete
Well Tempered Clavier a few years ago.  It wasn't one of the best piano
accounts on record, but I did find it highly enjoyable and a good
super-budget choice.

The Performance - Jando's Goldbergs isn't as fine as his Well Tempered
Clavier, not even close.  The more I listen to it, the more I find
questionable and unrewarding features.  Here are my top problem areas:

1.  Jando likes to flatten and round notes, resulting in insufficient
lift and exuberance.  There is also a metronome-like aspect to his playing
that contributes to minimal elasticity.

2.  The bleakest variations, Nos.  15, 21, and 25 (Black Pearl) only get
a dusting of negativity from Jando.

3.  Inflections and accenting are often weak, depleting both the strength
and poignancy of Bach's music.

4.  Dialogue among the musical lines is undernourished.  Much of this
is caused by a lack of balance among the voices, making effective
communication difficult.  There are also too many moments when Jando
simply sounds clumsy.

5.  To top things off, Jando has a little formula he uniformly employs
when playing Bach's repeats.  He softens the tone and adds short trills
to the upper melody lines.  When heard in one or two variations, the
effect can be positive.  But Jando's steady diet soon becomes predictable
and tiresome.  Further, those little trills are annoying and sound
entirely contrived.

Don's Conclusions - The best I can say is that Jando's Goldberg Variations
is serviceable and in fine sound.  However, the competition is immense
and leaves Jando at the starting gate.  I recommend taking a pass on
Jando and investigating the piano versions of Glenn Gould, Rosalyn Tureck,
Charles Rosen, Tatiana Nikolayeva, and Andras Schiff (his ECM, not Decca
version).  And then there are dozens of harpsichord versions to explore.
Sad to say, Jando is well below the curve.

Don Satz
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