Bach: Goldberg Variations | Evgeni Koroliov (Bachfest Leipzig 2008)

The Goldberg Variations for a desert island: Evgeni Koroliov plays the Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach at the Bachfest Leipzig 2008. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) gave the following inscription to the cycle for harpsichord that today is known as the Goldberg Variations: “Keyboard exercise, consisting of an ARIA with diverse variations.” The first edition of this harpsichord exercise was published in the fall of 1741 and formed the 4th part of a collection of compositions for harpsichord that Bach had compiled for the secular concerts of the Collegium Musicum. In the Bach catalog of works, the harpsichord variations are listed under the number 988 (BWV 988). The common name Goldberg Variations (Goldberg Variationen) originated only in the 19th century and derives from an anecdote that contemporary scholars have proved to be historically inaccurate. According to the anecdote, the harpsichord pieces were commissioned by Hermann Carl von Keyserlingk. Keyserlingk was a Russian diplomat and had met Johann Sebastian Bach personally in Dresden in 1741. Because Keyserlingk suffered from insomnia, he is said to have requested from Bach piano pieces that his harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg could play for him during sleepless nights. As a result, the harpsichord variations are said to be named after Keyserlingk’s private musician Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. Although this is not true, the name Goldberg Variations has become the standard. The Goldberg Variations are a masterpiece of baroque compositional art. They consist of an aria with a bass theme that varies 30 times in quite distinct ways. Every third variation is a canon, and of the altogether 10 canons, the last is a quodlibet in which Bach has interwoven two folk songs. The 16th variation is an overture and marks the beginning of the 2nd part. The final da capo aria completes the cycle. The Goldberg Variations were composed for double manual harpsichord, whereby 15 variations only require single manual, 11 variations require double manual, and 4 variations require either single or double manual. It is therefore a particular challenge to play Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the piano. Evgeni Koroliov, born in Moscow in 1949, is considered one of the greatest Bach interpreters of our time. Koroliov has lived in Hamburg since 1978 and has performed on all the world’s great stages. His piano repertoire spans all musical epochs, but it is with his Bach interpretations in particular that Evgeni Koroliov has been able to impress the music world time and again. The composer György Ligeti once professed that he would take Koroliov’s rendition of Bach’s “The Art of Fugue” to a desert island. This adage could easily be applied to Koroliov’s Goldberg Variations—one could surely set off to a desert island with them. (00:00) Aria (04:58) Variatio 1. a 1 Clav. (07:02) Variatio 2. a 1 Clav. (08:41) Variatio 3. Canone all’ Unisono a 1 Clav. (10:49) Variatio 4. a 1 Clav. (11:57) Variatio 5. a 1 o 2 Clav. (13:12) Variatio 6. Canone alla Seconda a 1 Clav. (14:51) Variatio 7. a 1 o 2 Clav. Al tempo di Giga (16:59) Variatio 8. a 2 Clav. (18:55) Variatio 9. Canone alla Terza a 1 Clav. (20:47) Variatio 10. Fughetta a 1 Clav. (22:35) Variatio 11. a 2 Clav. (24:42) Variatio 12. Canone alla Quarta in moto contrario a 1 Clav. (26:59) Variatio 13. a 2 Clav. (32:25) Variatio 14. a 2 Clav. (34:30) Variatio 15. Canone alla Quinta in moto contrario a 1 Clav. (39:49) Variatio 16. Ouverture a 1 Clav. (42:53) Variatio 17. a 2 Clav. (44:40) Variatio 18. Canone alla Sesta a 1 Clav. (46:32) Variatio 19. a 1 Clav. (48:54) Variatio 20. a 2 Clav. (50:44) Variatio 21. Canone alla Settima a 1 Clav. (54:01) Variatio 22. a 1 Clav. (55:48) Variatio 23. a 2 Clav. (57:48) Variatio 24. Canone all’ Ottava a 1 Clav. (1:00:24) Variatio 25. a 2 Clav. (1:10:42) Variatio 26. a 2 Clav. (1:13:21) Variatio 27. Canone alla Nona a 2 Clav. (1:15:09) Variatio 28. a 2 Clav. (1:17:15) Variatio 29. a 1 o 2 Clav. (1:19:44) Variatio 30. Quodlibet a 1 Clav. (1:21:30) Aria da Capo © EuroArts Music International and NHK Watch more concerts in your personal concert hall: and in our Bach playlist: Subscribe to DW Classical Music: #JohannSebastianBach #GoldbergVariations #EvgeniKoroliov