J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Featuring

Diana Boyle
Johann Sebastian Bach

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Performer Biography

Diana Boyle, the pianist on this recording, studied with Artur Balsam in New York on a Fulbright Scholarship, and his musical insight was a pivotal influence on her life.

Compositional Technique

Unlike Handel's short eight-bar Aria, Bach's Aria consists of 32 bars, is highly ornamented, and its bass line forms the basis for the variations.

Composition History

The Goldberg Variations were published in 1741 but are thought to have been inspired by Bach's desire to improve upon a 1733 publication titled 'Aria with 64 Variations'.

Critical Reception

The Goldberg Variations remained a fairly esoteric work, with no recorded performances until the late 19th century, until Glenn Gould's pioneering 1955 recording on modern piano made it an icon.

Composition History

Bach's Goldberg Variations, formally titled 'Aria with diverse variations for a harpsichord with two manuals', is the final piece in his larger publication project, Clavierübung.

Composition History

The nickname 'Goldberg Variations' likely refers to Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, a 13-year-old student of Bach in Leipzig to whom the work was possibly dedicated.

Compositional Technique

In the Goldberg Variations, every third variation is a Canon, with the interval of the canon increasing by a step each time, from a unison to a ninth.