Goldberg Relocating Postcolonialism

With this recording, Swiss harpsichordist Michel Kiener presents his interpretation of the Goldberg Variations, one of Bach’s absolute masterpieces. completed both his piano and harpsichord studies at the Geneva Conservatoire, where he won the prize of virtuosity in both disciplines. He perfected his art with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam and was laureate of the Bruges International Harpsichord Competition. Due to his versatility and his passion for chamber music, Kiener has performed with many outstanding artists such as Christophe Coin, the Kuijken brothers, Ryo Terakado and singers such as Marta Almajano and Jennifer Smith. As a soloist he performed with the ensembles Il Giardino Armonico and Il Gardellino. Michel Kiener performs the Goldberg Variations on his magnificent harpsichord with sumptuous bass made by William Dowd in Paris in 1978, modelled on an instrument made by Nicolas Blanchet in 1730.

With this album, the Swiss harpsichordist Michel Kiener presents his interpretation of the Goldberg variations, which are among Bach's absolute masterpieces. Michel Kiener studied both piano and harpsichord at the Geneva Conservatory, where he won the Prize for Virtuosity in both disciplines.

The dilemma faced by any arranger of Bach is to stay true to the character of his music while knowing he would have been far bolder and more imaginative. For this version, I have attempted to remain within a sound-world that he would have found familiar. I did, however, have two factors on my side: Bach's sublime and rigorous counterpoint and, in Craig Ogden, a virtuoso guitarist whose technical accomplishment is matched only by his Aussie ability to remain unruffled in the face of any challenge.

‘This recording’, says accordionist Samuele Telari, ‘is one that I felt compelled to make. Every time I play Bach’s Goldberg Variations I realise that something changes inside me, and as a consequence in my interpretation as well. The piece is a kind of mirror into which I can look and see what is inside me. Finally, after performing it many times in concert over several years, I felt ready to fix a version in a recording.’

Telari’s instrument is essential to his conception of this eternally fresh, kaleidoscopic work.

The touch and musicianship of the Hungarian pianist Klára Würtz is amply attested by a substantial catalogue of Brilliant Classics and Piano Classics albums stretching from Mozart to Bartók. Her latest recording turns to a pillar of the keyboard repertoire, the variation set composed by J.S. Bach in 1741 as the fourth and final volume of his compendious Clavier-Übung (Keyboard exercise) project.

Bach's monumental Aria and Thirty Variations in G Major, BWV 988, commonly known as Goldberg Variations, are presented on this disc alongside two shorter works by the composer - Aria variata alla maniera italiana in A Minor, BWV 989, and the partially completed Aria and Variations in C Minor, BWV 991, in the version completed by harpsichordist Alessandro Simonetto. Together, the three sets trace Bach's experience with the genre of the variations throughout the span of his compositional career: the virtuosic Aria variata alla maniera italiana is a relatively early work, from 1709; the fragment of what promised to be a complex set of variations in C minor, catalogued as BWV 991, is found in Anna Magdalena Bach's Notebook, which was compiled in 1722; and the Goldberg Variations, one of the pinnacles of the keyboard literature and possibly one of greatest artistic manifestations of the human spirit, were first published in 1741.

"My interpretation should convey the unique song, dance, story of each part of the work - that was the bar I set for myself," says Fazil Say about his new album of Bach's famous Goldberg Variations, composed 280 years ago to entertain a nobleman in his sleepless nights.

"My interpretation should convey the unique song, dance, story of each part of the work - that was the bar I set for myself," says Fazil Say about his new album of Bach's famous Goldberg Variations, composed 280 years ago to entertain a nobleman in his sleepless nights.

eune, quand on regarde l’Everest,… on se dit qu’un jour on va le gravir ; il faut se préparer, mais surtout, un jour, il faut y aller…L’Everest, c’est toute l’œuvre de Bach ; les Variations Goldberg ne dérogent pas à la règle mais en les comparant à d’autres intégrales (les Partitas ou même Le Clavier Bien tempéré), les Goldberg ne sont pas forcément plus difficiles à aborder. L’image de l’Everest pour moi, c’est le fait d’aborder une œuvres atypique, longue de plus d’une heure, sans pause et surtout, et ce n’est pas la moindre chose, le fait de connaître beaucoup d’autres interprètes qui l’ont gravi avant moi. Donc les références sont nombreuses et par conséquent la question se pose véritablement, pourquoi aborder les Goldberg aujourd’hui dans le cadre d’un enregistrement ? C’est bien là que se trouve la vraie question.