I remember Evgeni Koroliov from his Art of Fugue on Tacet which was a
fine recording, so I was very much looking forward to his recording of the
Goldberg Variations from Hanssler.  Also, with an 85 minute performance, I
assumed that most if not all of the repeats would be observed and I prefer
the Goldbergs that way.

Koroliov's performance is a "forge ahead" one.  He doesn't provide
much subtlety, preferring a relatively direct and un-fussy approach.
However, I feel that subtlety is an important component of the Goldbergs,
particularly in the aria and slower variations.  Koroliov does very well
in the faster variations, but the rest sound common-place with insufficient
dynamic grading.  Also, the bass line is a little weak.

Among a host of very good or better piano alternatives, Maria Tipo on EMI,
Peter Serkin on RCA, and both Turecks (Philips and DG) provide greater
insights than Koroliov.  And there's always the Gould versions on Sony.
Koroliov is up against very stiff competition.

Don's Conclusion: Worth sampling if you like a very direct reading.
Otherwise, find the nuances in recordings such as the above mentioned.

Don Satz
[log in to unmask]