To say that Mortensen is a technically accomplished harpsichordist of considerable vitality isn't really to go very far, since we know that already from previous records, and anyway there wouldn't be much point in tackling the Goldberg Variations without these prerequisites. But this monumental work, not only one of the greatest examples of variation technique but, on a purely expressive level, a musical masterpiece, demands more than that. Artur Rubinstein, you may remember, remarked when he was about 90 that he was beginning to understand Chopin; and I hope it does not sound too old-fogeyish to suggest that when Mortensen (who is not yet 35) has lived with this work longer he may take a different view of some aspects of it. He may clarify his policy on repeats—at present he omits those in nine variations for no apparent common reason; he may see the importance of making ornamentation consistent between canonic lines; he may reconsider some unconvincing tempos—Vars. 3 and 10 (the fughetta) whizzed through, Var. 6 lumbering heavy-footedly—and his present habit of playing the left hand before the right, like nineteenth century romantic pianists, and making big ritardandos (e.g. at the end of the Aria); and while retaining a certain welcome flexibility, he may play Var. 19 in less mannered fashion and, above all, not distort the rhythm of the alternating chords in Var. 29.
His interpretation of appoggiaturas in the Aria is likely to raise a few eyebrows, and not everyone will like the adoption of a chirpy and most unmajestic staccato in the French overture. But I do hope he does not lose the pertness he shows in Var. 27 and the crisp humour of his Var. 22; and the extra embellishments he allows himself on repeats are (remembering Koopman's distractingly fussy ornaments on Erato/RCA) neat and natural-sounding. Unlike Gilbert (Harmonia Mundi), who presents the variations in groups, Mortensen (or his producer) leaves large gaps between successive movements, which does not help continuity; but the sound of the Ruckers copy he employs (more agreeable than that of Gilbert's instrument) is faithfully reproduced, and the only slight flaw in the recording is a noisy fallback of the jacks at the end of the Aria. Altogether a not inconsiderable issue, but less to my taste than those of the late Scott Ross on EMI (though he was inclined to be a bit matter-of-fact) or Mortensen's teacher Pinnock (Archiv Produktion).'