A couple of weeks ago, posters started to appear around Park Slope advertising a concert of Bach’s "Goldberg" Variations, performed by American pianist Simone Dinnerstein. Dinnerstein, 34, lives in the Slope with her husband and young son, and released a self-produced recording of the "Goldbergs" last year, to great acclaim. She has since seen her career take off like a skyrocket, with recital debuts in London, Paris and Berlin and a full slate of orchestra appearances planned for next season.
Her choice for a debut recording was not an obvious one. Bach’s music is like Shakespeare: his script is flawless by itself, but leaves room for the performer to place his or her own mark on the piece. This would seem to work in Dinnerstein’s favor, but for many, there is one performer who will forever be associated with the "Goldbergs": the late Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, who spent a lifetime perfecting his performance of Bach, and this work in particular. Gould made two celebrated recordings of the "Goldbergs": his debut recording in 1955, and a subsequent digital recording in 1981. I have the latter CD in my collection, and have listened to it many, many times. So, apparently, has Dinnerstein, who so idolized Gould’s recordings growing up that she says she knows them by heart. (You can watch a video of Gould’s recording session here.)
But, Dinnerstein takes her own distinct approach with the "Goldbergs," which was very much in evidence at her concert this afternoon at a sold-out Town Hall, part of the People’s Symphony Concerts series. Compared to Gould, who was famous for his eccentricities and can be heard muttering to himself on the ’81 recording, Dinnerstein was an oasis of calm, playing with a steady pace that emphasized the quiet, spiritual stretches of the piece.
But, the "Goldbergs" demand a vast spectrum of skills – not to mention Ironman-like stamina – from the performer. During the fastest variations, Dinnerstein’s hands flew across the keyboard, cooking up a blur of notes that bordered on tone clusters. Clearly, Dinnerstein has taken ownership of these variations, never once looking stressed or strained.
Dinnerstein played all of Bach’s repeats, making the performance clock in at just under 90 minutes, with no intermission – only a couple of brief pauses while she took a sip of water. It was absolutely riveting from beginning to end, eclipsing even Konstantin Lifschitz’ remarkable performance of Bach’s complete Well-Tempered Clavier on this same stage last May.
It’s not hard to foresee a day decades from now when NYers will ask each other if they heard Ms. Dinnerstein at this performance, the way they trade stories about the Carnegie recitals of yesteryear. Until then, I suppose I’ll just keep an eye out for her the next time I’m passing by the Coop.