St Petersburg, Concert Hall

Yevgeny Korolyov recital (piano)


I International Festival Contemporary Piano Faces
Johann Sebastian Bach. Goldberg Variations

 

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations consist of an aria and thirty variations and are to be found in the fourth volume of the so-called Klavierübungen (“Piano Exercises”). The story of the creation of the series is rather unusual. It was named in honour of Goldberg, a harpsichordist who worked for Count Kaiserling, Bach’s patron; the Count was the Russian Ambassador to the Court in Dresden. It was he who succeeded in ensuring Bach received the title of Composer to the Court. Count Kaiserling suffered from insomnia and so he requested that Bach compose some pieces for piano that were different in character and Goldberg, performing them on the harpsichord, entertained the Count at night when the latter was unable to sleep. Bach carried out the request and composed a series of variations that were subsequently named after their first performer.
The theme of the Goldberg Variations is taken from Anna Magdalena Bach’s Keyboard Notebook. This is a sarabande to the motif Bist du bei mir (“If you are with me”). At the time, the piece had already been in existence for ten years before Bach decided to take it as the basis for his new cycle of variations. Of all the composer’s works not one comes close to the modern piano style. This is particularly noticeable in the penultimate and preceding variations that an unbiased listener, even by just looking at the notes, would surmise that it was one of Beethoven’s late pieces for piano. In the manuscript of the cycle there is a remark by the composer stating that it is intended to be performed on the harpsichord with two manuals. The Goldberg Variations contain tremendous difficulties in terms of the ideas and technique and including this work in their programmes in its entirety is something that very few pianists are willing to take on.
Pavel Velikanov

Age category 6+

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