Just picked up a new SACD hybrid album that is a “Zenph - Re-performance” of Glenn Gould’s “Bach: The Goldberg Variations/1955 Performance” (how’s that for a mouthful?).

The main reason I wanted this album is because of the technology used in the recording. It essentially an idea by a software company called Zenph. “Zenph uses a Yamaha Disklavier Pro, an actual acoustic piano that can, with a computer’s help, play back with microscopically accurate timing and sensitivity” according to NPR. This means they can take old recordings and re-perform them with great accuracy. Why would they want to do that, you ask? Because they can take a performance with bad sound quality and make it breathtaking.

If the tech was not enough to turn a music fanatic’s head, the binaural recordings specifically made for headphones should. I have listened to the binaural tracks on my computer via my headphone setup and the results are miraculous. I am now hoping they carry this technology back to early recordings by Art Tatum, Bill Evans, and many other piano extraordinaires.

The album also has SACD surround sound and I am looking forward to giving that a shot. I would bet that it also sounds great!!

I should mention that there is some controversy to re-performing a master’s works. Many people believe it misses some of Gourd’s personality in the interpretation. Mainly, many of the critics of this re-performance miss his grunts and groans. While I am not familiar with his original albums, the grunts and groans by piano players usually turns me off to some extent. For that reason, I think I will skip the original versions and just enjoy this wonder sounding SACD/CD. Did I mention that the album was less than $13?? WOW!

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