João Carlos Martins / Bach
Vol. 4
The Goldberg Variations

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digital
LAB 7008

Labor Records is proud to announce the digital release of The Goldberg Variations, the fourth installment of The Complete Keyboard Works of J.S. Bach, a collection comprising 15 volumes/19 CDs. This monumental edition features the celebrated Brazilian pianist João Carlos Martins, a legend among Bachophiles.

REVIEWS

What is it about Bach specialists that makes such good copy? First there was Glenn Gould, the speed taking, intensely private Canadian who moaned while he played and retired from performance in his prime. Now there’s João Carlos Martins, a Brazilian whose life story may be even weirder. Martins specialized in Bach more than 40 years
ago and knocked everybody out with his eccentric, deeply personal approach to the repertoire. Then, in 1970, after injuring his hand in a Central Park soccer game, he retired, moved back to Brazil, and became a bank teller. Soon he made enough money to begin a new career promoting rock concerts and prizefights, became rich, then, in 1978, returned to piano. Now in what looks like a major push for this cultist figure, the Labor label is releasing the complete Bach keyboard works–all performed exquisitely by Martins. Martins’s technique is flawless, and though he’s Gould’s equal as a pianist, he’s much more romantic, drawing all sorts of passion, color, and dynamics from the piano and from these ancient texts.
– New York Magazine

In the Goldberg Variations Martins’s expressive, highly rhapsodic approach to the slower variations is balanced by the rock-solid tempos and brilliant articulation of the quicker ones. With no repeats, and a very personal approach to ornamentation, this particular trip passes a very enjoyable forty-six minutes without a trace of boredom–and that’s quite an achievement.
– David Hurwitz / In Tune

Martins claims that only he and Glenn Gould have mastered the ability to play Bach with such driving rhythmic precision and relentless marcato through even the fastest passages. There is another dimension, however, in which Martins eclipses Gould: his total commitment to extracting from Bach a depth of emotion that is nothing short of overwhelming. – On The Air Magazine

The Goldberg Variations are stunning yet deeply felt.
– BBC Music Magazine