Robert Koolstra, the performer, founded the Meerbach foundation in 2018 to promote the harpsichord and early music.
Compositional Technique
Every third variation is a canon, following an ascending pattern from a canon at the unison to a canon at the ninth.
Compositional Technique
The Goldberg Variations do not follow the melody of the opening aria, but instead use its bass line and chord progression as the basis for the 30 variations.
Composition History
The Goldberg Variations, a keyboard composition by Johann Sebastian Bach, consists of an aria and 30 variations, first published in 1741.
Composition History
The work is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may have been its first performer.
Composition History
An early biography by Johann Nikolaus Forkel suggests the variations were commissioned by Count Kaiserling for his sleepless nights, though this account is questioned by scholars.
Recording & Production
Performer Robert Koolstra chose Rameau's tuning for this recording, which he found created beautiful perfect thirds in the main chords and made the minor variations extra dark and expressive.
