Goldberg

The Tuscan Guitar Duo is one of the uncommon guitar group who has presented to the public the whole version of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations

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. This 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 project.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Aria mit verschiedenen Veränderungen, commonly known as the “Goldberg Variations”, is one of the best-known compositions of this master of masters. This fame is well deserved, for a number of reasons – some of which are not strictly musical.

Camerata RCO performs the classical Bach Goldberg Variations which are arranged by Soviet-Russian born orchestrator-arranger Dmitry Sitkovetsky. The Bach Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a work written for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations, after which the aria is repeated. These important examples of the variations are named after Johan Gottlieb Goldberg, who may have been the first performer of the published work in 1741. The performers consisting of Annebeth Webb (violin), Jeroen Woudstra (viola) and Honorine Schaeffer (violoncello) are members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

"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.

Jean-Sébastien Bach (1685-1750) : Variations Goldberg BWV 988

The Italian pianist, Maria Perrotta, graduated with distinction from the Milan Conservatoire in 1996; then she studied at the École Normale de Musique in Paris, where she graduated in chamber music.

A genuine masterpiece inspires musicians to adopt, adapt, or transcribe it without losing any of its greatness. Nevermind's four baroque aces, Anna Besson, Louis Creac'h, Robin Pharo and Jean Rondeau, have taken a creative look at Bach's famous Goldberg Variations and have made their own stylishly insightful 'variations' on the work. As they themselves explain: 'We needed only an informal rehearsal to grasp the incredible potential of a transcription for our ensemble. There have been other arrangements, but nobody has ever attempted this one before now, even though our instruments are among those most typically used in J.S. Bach's chamber music, in his many solo sonatas for flute, violin or gamba with bass continuo and obbligato harpsichord - and they also frequently feature in the arias of his cantatas and Passions.'