Bach: Goldberg Variations
1999 recording

This is very special. All of Angela Hewitt's Bach recordings to date have been made in Germany on her favourite piano and with her chosen producer, Ludger Böckenhoff. For this recording of the Goldbergs, a work for which she has especial reverence, Angela inspected several venues in Britain. Accordingly she and Ludger, the piano and piano technician Gerd Finkenstein, travelled from Germany to London's Henry Wood Hall where no fewer than five days were allocated to record the work. Finally satisfied artistically, Angela finished the recording at the end of the fifth day, after which she went home for a bath and something to eat. Everybody then went back to HWH in the middle of the night and recorded the whole thing again, without a break. After a few final adjustments in the editing room, that is the performance which appears on this disc.

All repeats are observed.

All of the music on this album is also available as part of the specially priced box set Angela Hewitt plays Bach: 'A magnificent retrospective of Angela Hewitt’s achievement as a pianist in the keyboard works of J S Bach … this remarkable set of recordings marks something of a milestone for everyone involved with classical music, as well as for Hyperion' (MusicWeb International).

CDA67305  78 minutes 18 seconds
‘Beautifully co-ordinated Bach playing, with all voices colourfully defined and spontaneity as a constant virtue. In my view, she has never made a better CD. Strongly recommended’ (Gramophone)
‘Outstanding … Hewitt's disc, exquisite artistry commingling with infectious exhilaration gives me the most pleasure’ (BBC Music Magazine)
‘It is a remarkable achievement, arguably the best to appear on disc since Glenn Gould's second celebrated recording from 1981 … [It] is the sheer technical command of her playing, coupled with s ...