Low D wrote:Three different recordings of The Goldberg Variations, all on accordion:
Stefan Hussong (1988)
Mika Vayrynen (2004)
Teodoro Anzellotti (2010)
The first one is on a piano accordion, the latter two on chromatic button accordions. Mika is Finnish, the other two are German. I'll let you know my favourite shortly...
I'm sure you've all been waiting with baited breath for my review. The winner is Finnish accordionist Mika Vayrynen on the chromatic accordion. It's a close thing, though, between him & Stefan Hussong on the piano accordion. I think the chromatic lends some superior dynamics to the sound. Both are played superbly.
Teodoro Anzellotti comes third, also on a chromatic. I don't mean to say it's not good, I just found the performance a bit dry by comparison (maybe Glenn Gould would tell me I'm hearing it wrong and this is the superior recording?) I heard the separate voices a little more distinctly in the other two. It's a close 3rd place for sure, there are moments in the later, rowdier parts of Anzellotti's performance that made my hair stand on end. It comes in a lovely package (cloth bound hardcover book style) and surely that counts for something too.
These impressions are based one one listen each, a week apart, so it's possible a deeper dive would change these rankings as, again, these are three superb performances with great sound. The 1988 recording deserves recognition for being, if I've read the liner correctly, an early digital release that sounds neither cold nor flat.