J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) (studio album)
by Glenn Gould

J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) by Glenn Gould
Year: 1956
Overall rank: 1,859th   
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 120 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1956 (9th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1950s (46th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,859th)

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Glenn Gould GOLDBERG VARIATIONS Complete Recording Sessions 1955 7 CDs / 1 LP
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GLENN GOULD THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS THE COMPLETE 1981 STUDIO SESSIONS NEW CD
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Glenn Gould Goldberg Variations,Bwv 988 (1955 Recording) (Vinyl)
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Glenn Gould bestography

J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) is ranked as the best album by Glenn Gould.

Glenn Gould album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (1,859th)
J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956)
Lower ranked (3,903rd) »
J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1982)

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,859th | 1950s rank: 46th | 1956 rank: 9th

J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) collection

J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 120 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 120 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
0/100
 !
12/12/2025 05:27 awesomness425   1,92577/100
 
85/100
 !
12/10/2025 05:45 Exist-en-ciel   4,30370/100
 
5/100
 !
12/02/2025 22:37 Mr_Shake_Hands_M   14759/100
 
55/100
 !
10/25/2025 01:32 xhitmanx   1,37784/100
 
80/100
 !
07/07/2025 10:12 djnizzi   2,85880/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.7/100, a mean average of 79.6/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 81.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.6.

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J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) favourites

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J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) comments

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Rating:  
70/100
From 02/15/2023 23:16 | #294062
Prefer the latest version.
Guess he was just a virtuoso kid and lacked that depth and maturity to play it like he did in '81.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 11/07/2020 22:20 | #260346
Grande pianista. Apesar da dificuldade técnica há sentimento!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
55/100
From 08/15/2019 19:08 | #241212
Really good stuff. I found it hard to get into classical music because the pieces were too long. No such issue here.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 01/29/2016 05:01 | #158038
I agree with the GoodSir. Reminds me a bit of some of Mozart's music... I felt it ran through algorithms of a scale instead of something emotionally moving. Still quite impressive and beautiful.

I think if I saw someone perform this live, it would move me differently... I've noticed this with "classical" music recordings.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 05/20/2015 04:57 | #141985
I'm a pianist, and this is my favorite piano music of all time. Really tough to play stuff. Holding all of the counterpoint in your head is difficult stuff.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/14/2014 02:45 | #126927
Obviously very technically impressive, though it doesn't do anything to particularly move me emotionally. I did enjoy it thoroughly despite that.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1956
1. Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley
2. Songs For Swingin' Lovers! by Frank Sinatra
3. Pithecanthropus Erectus by Charles Mingus
4. Ellington At Newport by Duke Ellington And His Orchestra
5. Ella & Louis by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
6. Lady Sings The Blues by Billie Holiday
7. Elvis by Elvis Presley
8. Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Song Book by Ella Fitzgerald
9. J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations (1956) by Glenn Gould
10. The Wildest! by Louis Prima
11. This Is Fats Domino! by Fats Domino
12. Johnny Burnette And The Rock N' Roll Trio by Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'n Roll Trio
13. Music Of India (Three Classical Ragas) by Ravi Shankar
14. Jazz At Massey Hall by The Quintet
15. Bluejean Bop by Gene Vincent
16. Calypso by Harry Belafonte
17. Moondog by Moondog
18. Rock And Rollin' With Fats Domino by Fats Domino
19. Gospel Train by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
20. Tragic Songs Of Life by The Louvin Brothers
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