IDAGIO | Goldberg Variations - The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 886445404333

Featuring

Igor Levit
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Composition History

Bach expert Peter Williams suggests the Goldberg Variations might have been intended as a showpiece for Bach's eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, who lived in Dresden.

Interpretation

Pianist Igor Levit initially resisted playing Bach's Goldberg Variations because they were clearly intended for a two-manual harpsichord, making some passages difficult on a modern grand piano.

Composition History

One reason the traditional story about the Goldberg Variations is doubted is that Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, the harpsichordist who was supposed to play them, was only thirteen years old in 1740, likely too young for the piece's technical demands.

Compositional Technique

The Goldberg Variations conclude with a Quodlibet, a medley of popular tunes, instead of a tenth canon, which Igor Levit interprets as Bach's insider joke about the lengthy absence of the Aria.

Performer Biography

Igor Levit, the pianist on this album, considers variations to be his favorite musical form, comparing them to travel books.

Critical Reception

Glenn Gould's 1950s recording of the Goldberg Variations faced initial skepticism from his record company but became immensely successful, leading more performers to embrace the work.

Composition History

The popular story that Bach composed the Goldberg Variations for Count Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk, the Russian ambassador at the Dresden Court, to help with his insomnia, is doubted by modern Bach research.