This is at least the sixth Tatyana Nikolaieva Goldberg Variations on disc and the third live version known to me. Recorded in London, its salient characteristics do not significantly differ from the 1983 Aarhus performance (Classico, 11/05) and the 1987 Stockholm concert (Bluebell, 1/93). To rephrase my late colleague Lionel Salter’s astute observation, two Nikolaievas operate at stylistic loggerheads. Nikolaieva 1 channels the modern concert grand’s full dynamic and colouristic range towards cogent linear interplay achieved by supple and direct means. You especially notice this in Vars 1, 2, 5, 22, and 26, while the cross-handed Vars 17 and 20 boast playful inflections absent from their equally deft and controlled Hyperion studio counterparts (1/93).

Other variations showcase Nikolaieva 2 pulling out the Romantic stops. For example, she’ll accent upbeats with the subtlety of an anvil falling on your head, dish out seasickness-inducing rubati (Vars 6 and 30) and fall into a habit of slightly rushing the end of a melodic line or dotting rhythms meant to be played “straight” (Var 9). Yet such is the force of the pianist’s personality that you’ll accept the immense freedom and cumulative flow she brings to Var 15 right then and there. And if you like the famous “black pearl” minor-key Var 25 disguised as a Bruckner adagio, Nikolaieva may well beat Barenboim at his own game. However, the encores are worth the recital’s entire asking price. Nikolaieva 1 returns with a vengeance for a peppy, breathtakingly articulating rendition of the G major Partita’s Praeambulum. Jesu, joy of Man’s desiring’s melodic stresses, tapered phrases and dynamic hairpins fuse in tasteful proportion as Nikolaieva 1 and 2 finally emerge as one.