Chiyan Wong - Bach - Busoni: Goldberg Variations & Other Works - Scotland on Sunday

Bach’s Goldberg Variations have appeared in various guises recently and are no worse for it. This, from Hong Kong-born pianist Chiyan Wong, offers a version edited by Busoni with “modifications” by Wong himself, and the quirkiness of a further trio of works that pay homage to Bach. He brings a stylistic sincerity to the main work, its Aria and 30 variations crisp, clear and iridescent, the multiplicity of moods enhanced by the added richness of occasionally bolstered textures. Bach purists may balk at the exaggerated rubato in the opening aria, and the protracted cadence extending the final bars - rather like the church organist compensating for the late arrival of the processing clergy. Wong takes his openminded vision further with his own Inversion of Variation 15, a spectral moment. Busoni’s chromatically seductive Sonatina “In Diem Nativitatis Christus McmVii” and his transcription of Bach’s violin Chaconne complete a strangely satisfying odyssey.