Trevor Pinnock and RAM - Bach: Goldberg Variations - Hi-Fi News

In 1980 Trevor Pinnock made an Archiv LP of the Goldberg Variations, playing a Ruckers harpsichord. Here, however - with this Royal Academy players augmented by five strings, guests from the Glenn Gould Conservatory, Toronto - he's opted for an orchestration, not by a contemporary of Bach', but (in 1938) by the Polish composer Jósev Koffler, later executed by the Gestapo. Scored for four solo winds and strings the intricate transcription was recorded at Snape Maltings in May '19, and it's fascinating to hear how Koffler changes the instrumentation for each Variation. Pinnock's affection for the project shines through as does the RAM wind playing.