Stefan Vladar’s graceful, meditative, well voiced, and intelligently ornamented rendition of the Bach Goldberg Variations Aria sets a promising tone for the 30 Variations and Aria da capo up ahead. Although his interpretation is not so sharply characterized and texturally varied as those of Murray Perahia, Ekaterina Dershavina, and András Schiff, Vladar’s finely-honed finger legato comes to the fore in Variations 9 and 20 and helps to sustain No. 13’s unusually slow pace. The pianist invents ear-catching yet always tasteful ornaments on the repeats, and is not averse to adding a discreet octave doubling or filled-out chord (the opening of the French Overture Variation 16). Some variations are somewhat square and non-eventful (Nos. 4 and 29), while others elicit more shapely animation, such as Vladar’s highly expressive reading of the “Black Pearl” Variation 25. While this 1996 recording may not be your first choice among piano Goldbergs, it’s certainly easy to live with, and the warm, realistic sonics help a lot.
