75TH SEASON 

OF CONCERTS

NOVEMBER 6, 2016 • NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Goldberg Variations

What are the Goldberg Variations, and how did they come to be a work of such enduring

fascination? Bach's keyboard work, originally published in 1741 under the title Aria with

diverse variations fora harpsichord with two manuals, is consistently described as both "iconic"

and "monumental." The National Gallery of Art has also been described with these words,

so it seems only natural to explore in depth this masterpiece of architectural composition

inside the Gallery's walls. The legend of the music's original intention — to soothe an

insomniac count to sleep — is not true, although entertaining and certainly part of the

work's story. The Aria was included as the final piece of Bach's Clavier-Obung (Keyboard

Practice), a study of keyboard technique at the highest level of the time. A copy of the

Aria exists, probably copied by Bach's wife Anna Magdalena sometime in the 1730s. But

the origin of the idea for the variations could be a case of one-upsmanship. In 1733, Handel 

composed a set of thirty variations, based on an aria of eight measures long. Bach's Aria

is thirty-two measures. In the end, a much more elaborate and sophisticated showpiece

emerged from Bach's efforts.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Goldberg Variations experienced a renaissance, when

pianist Rudolph Serkin and harpsichordist Wanda Landowska both, separately, began to

perform and record the Variations. Canadian pianist Glenn Gould's international career was

famously launched with his landmark 1955 debut recording of the Goldberg Variations. From

these performances emerged the dispute: harpsichord versus piano. What would Bach have

thought? While purists have argued that Bach would roll over in his grave at the sound of 

his keyboard works being played on a modern piano, the fact is, he would probably have

no greater delight than to hear how beautifully his music translates not only to the piano,

but to the many, many transcriptions, arrangements, and interpretations that have emerged. 

Today we will hear it as he wrote it, for a two-manual harpsichord. Then you will be surprised how different, but equally transcendent it sounds when played by a string trio, a reed

quintet, and on a modern Steinway D concert grand piano, with contemporary jazz improvisations interspersed with the variations, performed by composer-pianist Dan Tepfer.

Danielle DeSwert Hahn, Head of Music Programs, National Gallery of Art

75th Season * 3
PROGRAM

12:00 • West Building Lecture Hall

Ignacio Prego, harpsichord

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Aria

Variatio 1. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 2. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 3. Canone all'Unisono. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 4. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 5. a 1 0 vero 2 Clav.

Variatio 6. Canone alia Seconda. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 7. a 1 0 vero 2 Clav. (al tempo di Giga) 

Variatio 8. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 9. Canone alia Terza. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 10. Fughetta. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 11. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 12. Canone alia Quarta.

Variatio 13. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 14. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 15. Canone a la Quinta (in moto contrario)

Variatio 16. Ouverture. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 17. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 18. Canone alia Sesta. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 19. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 20. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 21. Canone alia Settima

Variatio 22. Alla breve, a 1 Clav.

Variatio 23. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 24. Canone all'Ottava. a 1 Clav.

Variatio 25. a 2 Clav. (Adagio)

Variatio 26. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 27. Canone alia Nona, a 1 Clav.

Variatio 28. a 2 Clav.

Variatio 29. a 1 o vero 2 Clav.

Variatio 30. Quodlibet. a 1 Clav.

Aria da Capo e fine

4 • National Gallery of Art

The Musician

Ignacio Prego won first prize at the 2012 Westfield International Harpsichord Competition

and has been described by El Mundo as "one of the most versatile Spanish musicians in

the Classical scene." He has performed at leading venues throughout the world. Recent

appearances include his debut in New York with The English Concert and Harry Bicket,

playing Bach's F-minor Harpsichord Concerto. He also debuted in London with a solo recital

at St. Martin in the Fields and in Berkeley, California, playing the Goldberg Variations. In

addition to numerous appearances as a soloist, and in collaborative concerts, Prego has

also given a live performance at WQXR New York Public Radio as part of the Bach 360 

Festival. He has presented at the NYU Auditorium for the New York Philharmonic Insight

Series and given recitals with recorder virtuoso Maurice Steger and cellist Phoebe Carrai

at the Frick Collection in New York and at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland. He has

performed at the Chiquitos Early Music Festival in Bolivia, the XI Early Music Festival in

Lima, Peru, and the Symphonic Hall in Leon, Spain.

In December 2014, Prego released his second harpsichord solo CD under the Cantus 

Records label with J. S. Bach's Complete French Suites. His recording solo debut with Verso

in 2012, entitled Chromatic Fantasy, was also dedicated exclusively to the music of J. S. Bach.

Scherzo magazine hailed it as "outstanding mastery of Bach's complex counterpoint

architecture, overwhelming elegance and extraordinary control." El Cultural described it as

an "outstanding performance," and the Juilliard Journal referred to it as "heavenly harpsichord music." As a continuo player, he often collaborates with various ensembles, including

Spain-based La Ritirata, with whom he published a DVD for Cantus Records.

Prego is a recipient of the 2005 AECI Grant (International Cooperation Spanish

Agency), the 2009 CajaMadrid Foundation Grant, and the 2014 The English Concert —

Harry Bicket Fellowship. After graduating with high honors from the Padre Antonio Soler

Conservatory in Madrid, he continued his studies in the United States with Luiz de Moura

Castro and Emile Naoumoff. He then studied harpsichord at Indiana University with

Elisabeth Wright. In August 2012, Prego joined the Historical Performance program at the

Juilliard, studying with Kenneth Weiss and Richard Egarr and working with visiting artists,

including Jordi Savall, Harry Bicket, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, and Monica Huggett.

75th Season • 5
Program Notes

Bach composed the Goldberg Variations as a study for a two-manual keyboard. While the

work goes so much deeper than a technical study— as do all of Bach's works — let us look

at the basic form in the driest sense. Bach's previously mentioned thirty-two-measure Aria

is characterized as a sarabande, which was a stately dance popular in Renaissance courts.

The following thirty variations, which are specifically variations of the bass melody (not

the treble), are cyclical. Every third variation is a canon at a progressively larger interval:

Variation 3 at the unison, Variation 6 at the second, Variation 9 at the third, and so on.

Each of these canons is featured in the upper two voices, while a third voice in the bass

outlines the harmony. Bach suddenly breaks this trend in Variation 27, which is a canon 

at the ninth, dropping the bass voice and leaving only the upper canonic voices. The final

variation deviates even further, presenting not a strict canon, but a quodlibet — an informal

piece that quotes popular songs of the day — before recapitulating the initial aria at the

close of the work.

The first variation of each group of three (1, 4, 7, and so on) offers much stylistic

variety, providing in turns dance-like numbers, a fughetta, and, at the beginning of the

second half, a French overture. The second of each group (2, 5, 8, and so on) is generally

more flashy and virtuosic. Since Bach composed the work for harpsichord, these knotty

variations are usually written for two separate manuals on the instrument, thereby necessitating much hand-crossing and overlapping when played on the modern piano.

While the composition displays superior compositional craft through a tight-knit

formal framework, it is also imbued with creativity, humor, depth of emotion, and a profound respect for music to lift the human spirit.

Program notes by Danielle DeSwert Hahn, Head of Music Programs, National Gallery of Art

6 • National Gallery of Art

PROGRAM

1:30 • West Building, West Garden Court

Aspen String Trio 

David Perry, violin

Victoria Chiang, viola

Michael Mermagen, cello

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Transcription for String Trio

by Dmitry Sitkovetsky

Aria

Variation I

Variation II

Variation III Canone all'Unisuono

Variation IV

Variation V

Variation VI Canone alia Seconda

Variation VII (al tempo di Giga)

Variation VIII

Variation IX Canone alia Terza

Variation X Fughetta

Variation XI

Variation XII Canone alia Quarta

Variation XIII

Variation XIV

Variation XV Canone alia Quinta (Andante)

Variation XVI Ouverture

Variation XVII

Variation XVIII Canone alia Sesta

Variation XIX

Variation XX

Variation XXI Canone alia Settima

Variation XXII

Variation XXIII

Variation XXIV Canone all'Ottava

Variation XXV (Adagio)

Variation XXVI

Variation XXVII Canone alia Nona

Variation XXVIII

Variation XXIX

Variation XXX Quodlibet

Aria

75th Season • 7
The Musicians

Sold-out houses and standing ovations characterize the performances of the renowned 

Aspen String Trio. After more than twenty years of friendship and music-making, Aspen 

String Trio members David Perry, Victoria Chiang, and Michael Mermagen are an ensemble 

with magical synergy. Each of these three world-class instrumentalists has a longtime

association as artist-faculty with the Aspen Music Festival; combined they have performed

across the globe in the world's most prestigious venues. "The energy, spontaneity, and

sheer enjoyment we find together is a constant inspiration to us, and a joy to our audiences!"

The trio delights in offering —with humor and insight —virtuoso performances of 

the rich string trio repertoire, including works by Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert, as well 

as lesser-known, blockbuster works by Dohnanyi, Hindemith, Martinu, Rozsa, Gideon Klein,

Veress, Villa-Lobos, and Ysaye, among others. Recent and upcoming performances and

residencies include Chicago, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, the University of 

Delaware, the Los Angeles Music Guild, and Baltimore, where for six seasons they were 

the Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Baltimore. A notable upcoming recording

project includes the string trios and other music of Martinu for the Naxos label. A regular

on Baltimore's classical station WBJC, the Aspen String Trio is regularly featured on Face

the Music and Music in Maryland.

8 • National Gallery of Art

Program Notes

When I first wrote my transcription of Bach's Goldberg Variations for String Trio, in 1984, it

was both a labor of love and an obsession with the 1981 Glenn Gould recording. For two

months I probably had the time of my life, musically speaking, being in the constant company of Johann Sebastian Bach and Glenn Gould. Generally, at that time, transcriptions

were out of fashion, and I recall that my own colleagues and managers were skeptical about

such an audacious idea.

Since then my transcriptions have been played all over the world, and moreover they

have opened the floodgates of new interpretive possibilities for the piece that have included

solo harp, wind instruments of all kinds, saxophone quartets, Renaissance viols, and even a

fascinating concoction by Uri Caine.

By the time 2009 arrived, I felt that this was the right moment to revisit and somewhat reexamine my original transcription. It was twenty-five years after the piece was first

transcribed, I had performed it many times and heard different adaptations of it, and I felt

the need to return to a simpler version with hardly any repeats at all.

I have made some changes in orchestration, probably influenced by my string

orchestra transcription of 1992, but most of all I tried to inject some fresh, youthful energy 

into the piece to propel it from the beginning to end.

I hope listeners will share in my lifelong journey through the Goldberg Variations and

my love of the music, indeed in the very first publication of the Variations, in 1742, J. S. Bach

stated that the spirit of the piece is "for the enjoyment of music lovers."

Dmitry Sitkovetsky, liner notes from The Art of Transcription

75th Season • 9
PROGRAM

3:00 • West Building Lecture Hall

Atlantic Reed Consort

Emily Snyder, oboe

Brooke Emery, clarinet

Jeremy Koch, saxophone

John Romano, bass clarinet

Eddie Sanders, bassoon

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Arr. for reed quintet by Raaf Hekkema

Aria

Variation I

Variation II

Variation III Canone all'Llnisuono

Variation IV

Variation V

Variation VI Canone alia Seconda

Variation VII (al tempo di Giga)

Variation VIII

Variation IX Canone alia Terza

Variation X Fughetta

Variation XI

Variation XII Canone alia Quarta

Variation XIII

Variation XIV

Variation XV Canone alia Quinta (Andante)

Variation XVI Ouverture

Variation XVII

Variation XVIII Canone alia Sesta

Variation XIX

Variation XX

Variation XXI Canone alia Settima

Variation XXII

Variation XXIII

Variation XXIV Canone all'Ottava

Variation XXV (Adagio)

Variation XXVI

Variation XXVII Canone alia Nona

Variation XXVIII

Variation XXIX

Variation XXX Quodlibet

Aria

10 * National Gallery of Art

The Musicians

The Atlantic Reed Consort (ARC) strives to bring chamber music to a broad audience in an

unexpected format. Comprised of oboe, clarinet, bassoon, bass clarinet, and saxophone, 

the quintet's cutting-edge sound and style both embraces the experimental and adds a

new twist to the likes of Bach, Gershwin, and Debussy. The ensemble promotes chamber

music through recordings, public outreach concerts, and educational clinics and recitals.

One of the region's most sought-after chamber music groups, ARC has been featured

recently at the Baltimore Composers Forum, INTERSECTIONS DC Festival, Atlas Theater, 

Creative Alliance at the Patterson, and numerous chamber music concert series throughout

the Mid-Atlantic region. It has also recently completed a residency at Georgia Institute

of Technology. Past performances include collaborations with Dissonance Dance Theatre,

Moveius Contemporary Ballet, and the Alexandria Choral Society. Committed to new

music, ARC has commissioned and premiered works by Stephen Gorbos, John Elmquist, 

Gregory C. Brown, John Morrison, and Robert Thurston. The group will be making its

Carnegie Hall debut in January 2017, followed by the release of a second album in February

2017. Their debut album, Atlantic Reed Consort, can be found on iTunes.

Program Notes

This arrangement of J. S. Bach's Goldberg Variations is a recent one, completed in 2012 by Raaf

Hekkema, a member of Calefax, the original reed quintet. The distinct tonal qualities of each

instrument in the reed quintet showcase the intricate counterpoint of this monumental work, 

lending a unique sound and independent character to each voice. Even those familiar with

the Variations will gain a new perspective of the piece, as crossing lines, counter melodies, 

and inversions reveal themselves in new ways, highlighted by the contrasting timbres

of the individual instruments. As a way to further enrich the sonic landscape, members of

the quintet are called upon to play not only their primary instruments —oboe, clarinet, alto

saxophone, bass clarinet, bassoon — but also to double on secondary instruments, including

soprano saxophone, E-flat clarinet, oboe d'amore, and English horn.

Program notes by Jeremy Koch

75th Season • 11
PROGRAM

4:30 • West Building, West Garden Court

Dan Tepfer, piano 

Goldberg Variations/Variations

01. Aria (Bach/Tepfer)

02. Variation 1

03. Improvisation 1

04. Variation 2

05. Improvisation 2

06. Variation 3 —canon at the unison

07. Improvisation 3 — canonic 1

08. Variation 4

09. Improvisation 4

10. Variation 5

11. Improvisation 5

12. Variation 6 —canon at the second

13. Improvisation 6 —canonic 2

14. Variation 7

15. Improvisation 7

16. Variation 8

17. Improvisation 8

18. Variation 9 — canon at the third

19. Improvisation 9 —thirds

20. Variation 10 — fugetta

21. Improvisation 10— fuguelike

22. Variation 11

23. Improvisation 11

24. Variation 12 —canon at the fourth

25. Improvisation 12 —obsessive

26. Variation 13

27. Improvisation 13

28. Variation 14

29. Improvisation 14

30. Variation 15 — canon at the fifth

31. Improvisation 15 — canonic 5

32. Variation 16 —ouverture

33. Improvisation 16

34. Variation 17

35. Improvisation 17

36. Variation 18 —canon at the sixth

37. Improvisation 18— sixths

38. Variation 19

39. Improvisation 19

40. Variation 20

41. Improvisation 20

42. Variation 21 — canon at the seventh

43. Improvisation 21 — sevenths

44. Variation 22

45. Improvisation 22

46. Variation 23

47. Improvisation 23

48. Variation 24 — canon at the octave

49. Improvisation 24 —canonic 8

50. Variation 25

51. Improvisation 25

52. Variation 26

53. Improvisation 26

54. Variation 27 —canon at the ninth

55. Improvisation 27

56. Variation 28

57. Improvisation 28

58. Variation 29

59. Improvisation 29

60. Variation 30 — quodlibet

61. Improvisation 30 — mashup

62. Aria (Tepfer/Bach)

12 • National Gallery of Art

The Musician

Born in Paris to American parents, pianist-composer Dan Tepfer has translated his bicultural

identity into an exploration of music that ignores stylistic bounds. As the New York Times

has written, he "combines superb technique with a complex set of impulses: he's a deeply

rational improviser drawn to the unknown." Tepfer has worked with the leading lights in jazz,

including extensively with saxophone luminary Lee Konitz, while releasing seven albums

as a leader in solo, duo, and trio formats. His solo work Goldberg Variations/Variations, which

pairs his performance of Bach's work with improvised variations of his own, has received

broad praise as a "riveting, inspired, fresh musical exploration" (New York Times). As a

composer, he is a recipient of the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of

Arts and Letters for works including Concerto for Piano and Winds, which premiered in the

Prague Castle with Tepfer on piano, and Solo Blues for Violin and Piano, which premiered at

Carnegie Hall. Bringing together his undergraduate studies in astrophysics and his passion

for music, he is currently working on integrating computer-driven algorithms into his

improvisational approach. Awards include first prize and audience prize at the Montreux

Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition, first prize at the East Coast Jazz Festival Competition,

and the Cole Porter Fellowship from the American Pianists Association. His recent 

soundtrack for the independent feature Movement and Location was voted Best Original

Score at the Brooklyn Film Festival.

75th Season • 13
Program Notes

I grew up with the "Goldbergs” I even remember clearly the first time I ever heard them,

when I was eleven years old. I was playing chess with a friend, who went over to the hi-fi

and put on one of his parents' records —it was the 1981 Glenn Gould recording. I flipped

out hearing just the Aria. I thought it was some of the most beautiful music I'd ever heard.

I think if anyone has experienced it as this totem, I have. I own a ton of recordings of the

Goldberg Variations and the work has always been with me. But I never thought it would be

something that I'd play myself on the piano until a few years ago. I just kept wanting to

learn more of it, then all of it. Also, as a composer, I grew to experience very intimately just

how perfect Bach's music is, how complete. And I've always felt emotionally the almost

sacred quality of the work.

That said, we should remember that the Goldberg Variations were originally published

as keyboard studies. Each one is clearly trying to teach us something. There are technical

ideas that Bach is making the pianist work through, as well as musical ideas that he is

displaying. In his time, the baroque era, there was a whole tradition of showing how things

were done. But to the listener, that stuff isn't necessarily relevant. That's part of the genius 

of Bach: He is operating on all these levels —his music is mathematically and structurally

perfect, but it also expresses the full range of human emotion. The "Goldbergs" aren't just

serious and dramatic; they are also funny and light. There is a whole world in this music. In

Bach's day, people probably responded to the practical, pedagogical aspect of the music,

and in our time, people emphasize the hallowed, spiritual aspect of it. The piece has come 

to mean different things to people in different eras. That's another thing that makes it great.

I hope listeners feel a sense of surprise —surprise that something like these two

approaches can work. And I hope that by the end of the performance listeners think about

Bach's work in a deeper way. In other words, you might not have noticed an element in

one of his variations that you now notice because I'm bringing it out in my improvisation. I

also hope people come away with the realization that two approaches to music can coexist. 

And, of course, I hope people are just moved, because I think Bach's Goldberg Variations are

among the most profoundly affecting masterpieces ever. From this tiny piece of material,

Bach was able to express an incredibly full range of feeling, and the fact that all the variations flow together so beautifully and that they make a complete whole is a way for Bach

to convey how all these different emotions are part of life and belong together. You can't

expect to have a life that’s all visceral delight, and you certainly wouldn't want a life that's

all sadness. The contrast is what makes a complete life, and a complete work of art.

Program notes by Dan Tepfer

14 • National Gallery of Art

Upcoming Events of the Seventy- General Information

Fifth Season of The William

Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot

Belin Concerts

A Far Cry

Dreams and Prayers

featuring David Krakauer, clarinet

November 20, 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

Eliot Fisk, guitar

Complete Cello Suites of Johann

Sebastian Bach

November 26 & 27, 3:00

West Building, West Garden Court

Donal Fox, piano

Presented in honor of Stuart Davis:

In Full Swing

December 3,12:30, 2:00, 3:30

West Building, Gallery M78

Fox Wolf Duo

Virtuosos in Dialogue

December 4, 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

Washington Performing Arts,

Children of the Gospel Choir

Holiday Caroling

December 10,1:30 & 2:30

Rotunda

Georgetown Day School

Holiday Caroling

December n, 1:30 & 2:30

Rotunda

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and all of its programs is free of charge,

except as noted.

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during the performance is not allowed.

Please be sure that all portable electronic

devices are turned off.

Concerts are made possible in part

through the generosity of donors to the

National Gallery of Art through The Circle.

Reserved seating is available in recognition

of their support. Please contact the

development office at (202) 842-6450 or

circle@nga.gov for more information.

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The department of music produced these

program notes. Copyright © 2076 Board of

Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Cover Georges Braque, Aria de Bach (detail),

1913, National Gallery of Art, Collection of

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

Back cover West Building, Constitution

Avenue entrance, viewed from Sixth Street nw,

1941, National Gallery of Art, Washington,

Gallery Archives