Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (Glenn Gould, 1981)
Album
Glenn Gould bookended his recording career with Bach's thirty variations on an opening aria. In this contemplative 1981 remake, Gould replaced youthful bravura with profound architectural clarity, deliberate tempos and exquisite counterpoint. His piano articulation illuminates Bach's complex mathematical symmetry like sunlight passing through stained glass.