In a booklet essay entitled “For Music Lovers, to Refresh their Spirits: Thoughts on playing the Goldberg Variations, Víkingur Ólafsson writes: “The Goldberg Variations contain some of the most virtuosic keyboard music ever written, some of the most astonishingly brilliant uses of counterpoint in the repertoire and countless instances of exalted poetry, abstract contemplation and deep pathos – all within immaculately shaped structures of formal perfection.”

And again: “Its system of successive groups of three variations, where a character piece is followed by a virtuosic, toccata-like movement and finally by a canon on ever-increasing intervals, is impressive and effective in its own right.”

In other words, the Goldberg Variations extend an irresistible invitation to keyboard players of all stripes to test themselves against Bach’s genius. That it’s taken a quarter century or so for Ólafsson to get here speaks to his seriousness and humility. And it’s those qualities – along with, it has to be said, an impish playfulness – which stand out here. Indeed, anything Ólafsson does is never less than...