Some have compared organist Cameron Carpenter to the crossover organists of the middle and later 20th century, such as Virgil Fox, but really, he is one of a kind. He performs on the International Touring Organ, an instrument he designed himself. It is portable; originating in Carpenter's native U.S., it is here played at the Konzerthaus in Berlin. However, its most prominent feature is the extraordinarily wide range of sounds it is capable of producing. These are wonderfully displayed on this release, Carpenter's first for the Decca Gold label, whose engineers capture the full range of colors. Carpenter has often arranged orchestral music for the organ, but he has outdone himself with Howard Hanson's Symphony No. 2 in D flat major, Op. 30 ("Romantic"), a work that is resurging now that the modernist death grip on concert music has been broken. Carpenter's treatment is truly symphonic, and Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, of course, provides an ideal showcase for Carpenter's talent, with the variations each offering scope for a new sonic interpretation. It is not so much a question of Bach being malleable when it comes to transcription; Carpenter's version qualifies as a fresh creative activity, and the variety is luxurious. Carpenter is certainly a bit over the top, maybe not for everyone, but this release makes a great place to start with his work, which should be experienced at least once.