Zhu Xiao-Mei’s first recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations was released by the Mandala label in 1999, and later reissued by Mirare. My Classicstoday.com review praised the pianist’s contrapuntal clarity while disparaging her occasional expressive mannerisms and tendency to slacken the pulse in quicker variations. Nearly two decades later, Zhu returns to the studio for another Goldbergs recording, and I find myself responding similarly.
Some details, of course, are different. Before, Zhu took most “A” section repeats but none of the “B” section repeats; now she observes all repeats save for that in the Aria da capo. The cross-handed variations (those originally scored for two harpsichord manuals) still find Zhu slowing down as the music unfolds, as does the French Overture No. 16. In fact, her earlier reading of No. 26 held tempo and sustained its light textures, while the new reading starts off lightly and transparently but gets progressively slower and thicker.
Zhu has tightened up some of her earlier expressive excesses; for example, she no longer lingers at phrase ends in No. 15 (the canon at the fifth), she frames her unconventional soft to loud trajectory in No. 22 with more animated solidity, and brings both Aria statements’ ground basses more to the fore. On the other hand, Zhu considerably expands her dynamic inflections in No. 6 (the canon at the second) while shaping No. 29’s toccata-like phrases in wilder, more assertive terms. As before, Zhu’s tapering of lyrical passages sometimes causes their last notes to die away.
There’s no denying Zhu’s attractive sonority, her spontaneous touches, and her genuine affinity for the score. But has her interpretation evolved? Has it become more insightful? It’s hard to judge from this recording, which in any event lacks Murray Perahia’s unifying architecture and technical refinement, while Alexandre Tharaud’s altogether bolder profile and Lori Sims’ ornamental aplomb and humor stand out among more recent piano versions. As we say in Italian: “Mah….”
