Gould had total command of his instrument, through which he projected his studiously considered and entirely personal view of Bach's musical firmament. However, whilst one may rightly respect his pianistic skill and seriousness of purpose it is, more often than not, hard to swallow the end-product. The Partita, BWV828, lasts for 25 minutes but, had repeats not been variously shorn from every movement it would have taken an absurd 40 minutes. The Allemande is contemplated in slow motion, the Courante flows sluggishly—often in staccato droplets, whilst the Sarabande displays the characteristics of both. The Gigue, on the contrary, passes quickly (no repeats) as an exercise in clearly enunciated, high-speed chatter.
The first movement of the Italian Concerto is admirable, the leisurely dreams of the second are disturbed by pronounced staccato in the bass, and the Presto bubbles along happily enough—perhaps sounding faster than it is, because it is so crisply played. The E minor Toccata is the best of the recording. One must, I think, be primarily interested in masterly pianism to want this vividly recorded but meagrely filled disc, one that shines more light on the performer than on the composer.'