If there's anything more terrifying than adding another recording to the existing legacy, it's the idea of adding even one more word to the quivering mass of adulatory Goldberg verbiage. Words seem to bounce off the notes of the Goldbergs, like they're impregnable. When NPR asked me to do these Goldberg blog posts, I cleverly used the denial portion of my brain to forget my dread. I have been assimilated into the Goldberg Borg. I worried for years that I would be seduced into playing them, and would become like all the others-besotted, cultish-and that is exactly what happened. Classical Music is not really supposed to be that popular. Yes, I'm suspicious of the Goldbergs' popularity. They're like a trendy bar that (infuriatingly) keeps staying trendy. Not a moment goes by when someone doesn't release a new recording, accompanied by breathless press. The best reason to hate Bach's Goldberg Variations-aside from the obvious reason that everyone asks you all the time which of the two Glenn Gould recordings you prefer-is that everybody loves them. (Jeremy Denk joins us all week to explore the Goldberg Variations.
