I have chosen to compare and contrast Glenn Gould’s interpretations of “Aria” from the Goldberg Variations. The 1955 version of this section is taken quite quickly, it has an almost choppy feel to it in places and I’m not sure if this is because of the piano, the recording, speed or the style he chose to play it in. The 1981 recording is considerably slower, clocking in at over a minute over the duration of the 1955 recording. The 1981 recording has a much more connected and smooth feeling to it, where the 1955 feels choppy and almost disconnected at times the 1981 flows through.  The 1981 recording also has a considerably clearer sound, you can really hear the development in both recording and Glenn Gould’s playing quality over those twenty six years. The 1981 recording also sounds very light and it flows very nicely, I think this is the biggest difference between the two recordings because it changes the whole feel of the piece. On one hand we have the 1955 recording that sounds more weighted and disconnected, and on the other we have the same piece recorded twenty six years later and it hardly sounds like the same piece at all because the style has changed so much. I really enjoyed listening to these two recordings because it is really quite amazing to be able to see exactly how much the style and ability of someone as iconic as Glenn Gould changes and improves over time.