Bach: Goldberg Variation 1

Ólafsson's Bach project announced itself as an act of interpretation rather than archaeology, and his reading of the first Goldberg Variation demonstrates his method immediately. The theme — the Aria that precedes and succeeds all thirty variations — is not lingered over sentimentally; Ólafsson moves through it with a clarity that borders on brisk, emphasizing the dance character that the sarabande rhythm originally demanded. Variation 1 itself is taken with rhythmic precision, the three-voice canon in the highest octave given unusual prominence, the ornaments applied with tact rather than excess. The piano sound Ólafsson and producer have arrived at is warm but not plushy, with a sustain that allows inner voices to remain audible through the wash of overtones. He plays without the severe historical restraint of some Bach interpreters, but also without the romantic inflation of others — he sounds like someone who has simply decided what the music means and is playing that meaning without apology. The cultural context here is Iceland's classical music culture, which has produced an unusual concentration of world-class musicians from a small population, and which tends toward a clarity and directness of expression that is evident in Ólafsson's touch. The variation is over quickly, its formal elegance complete, suggesting the larger architecture of what is to come.