Kit Armstrong Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and Its Predecessors Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.5

Kit Armstrong Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and Its Predecessors Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 4, 2017

The Goldberg Variations are traditionally thought of as the paradigm of the theme and variations form, and it is part of Johann Sebastian Bach’s genius that there are “hidden” variations within the variations themselves, as in the regular interstitial uses of canons on every third variation. The Goldberg Variations were originally written for harpsichord, but it’s not that unusual to hear them performed on the piano, as they are in this winning recital by keyboard prodigy Kit Armstrong. Armstrong’s technique is unquestionably flawless, even if he’s a little “dramatic” at times in terms of his body language and almost choreographed movements (even as he’s seated on the piano bench). While the Goldberg Variations will probably be well known to virtually all lovers of classical music, it’s the “and its predecessors” part of the title of this Blu-ray release which may spark significant interest, even if those “predecessors” are only tangentially related to Bach’s monumental masterpiece.

Along with the Goldberg Variations, Armstrong also tackles the following pieces, all built on the theme and variations form:

• William Byrd: Hugh Aston's Ground


• Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck:

  Six Variations on "Mein junges Leben hat ein End"

  Six Variations on "Erbarm dich mein, o Herre Gott"

• John Bull: Thirty Variations on the theme "Walsingham"

All of these selections are musically inventive and often incredibly melodic, but there's simply no denying that they don't approach the grandeur of Bach's creation. Armstrong is a nuanced, sensitive player, and he brings flawless technique to this performance, and one which thankfully lacks the grunts and groans of the legendary Glenn Gould recordings of the Goldberg Variations that many still consider the standard bearers for this piece.

Kit Armstrong Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and Its Predecessors Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kit Armstrong Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and Its Predecessors is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of C Major and Unitel Classica with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Recorded at the beautiful Concertgebouw Amsterdam, this is by and large an excellent looking transfer, though I personally wonder if some of the HD cameras being utilized were miscalibrated in some way. Some shots look slightly out of focus, but only on the edges of the frame, while one particular angle (through the piano lid looking straight at Armstrong) is hampered by some recurrent (if quite slight) macroblocking and chroma anomalies. There is some very minor flirtation with aliasing on the big pipes of the organ that are seen in some wide shots. Otherwise, though, this is a sharp and well detailed looking presentation, with a natural looking palette and excellent fine detail levels in close-ups.

Kit Armstrong Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and Its Predecessors Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Kit Armstrong Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and Its Predecessors features an LPCM 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 mix. With only a solo piano to offer, there's not a whale of a lot of difference in these tracks, though there is added hall ambience in the surround mix, as well as a slightly more full sounding low end, which actually comes into play in some of the variations featuring contrapuntal bass figures. Fidelity is fine, with no problems whatsoever.

Kit Armstrong Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and Its Predecessors Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements on this disc other than trailers for other releases.

Kit Armstrong Performs Bach's Goldberg Variations and Its Predecessors Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is a sterling performance of one of the titanic pieces of classical music literature. The "predecessor" pieces can't really hold a candle to Bach's masterpiece, but Armstrong plays them with a lot of gusto. Highly recommended.