J. S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Composer, Capellmeister, and Director Chori Musici in Leipzig. N�rnberg: Published by Balthasar Schmid." The fact that published pieces represent only a minority of Bach's entire creative output should be understood in the actual historical context. He was an extremely busy man in his office, and the financial burden of publishing music in his time was far greater than we, from our 20th century perspective, might assume that it was. This being the case, Bach's decision to go ahead with the publication of Clavier�bung tells us, to a certain extent, of his pride and ambition. This publication began with Partita, piece by piece, in 1726, three years after he was appointed as Thomas Cantor and the Director of Music in Leipzig. Both the scale and contents of the Partita suggest that Bach took its idea from his predecessor, Johann Kuhnau (1660~1722), who published Neue Clavier�bung (1689 and 1692) during his term of office in Leipzig.

In 1731 Bach put together the already-published six Partitas and reissued them as Opus 1, denoting his intention to continue with the series. He published Part 2, consisting of Italian Concerto and French Overture, in 1735, followed by Part 3, the so-called "German Organ Mass", in 1739. Up to this point every new publication appeared every four years, until the last of the series, "Goldberg" Variations, which appeared after an interim of two years. During this fifteen year period concerned with Clavier�bung, no other pieces were published. The title Clavier�bung (Keyboard Practice) should not imply that the work is a study for beginners. Rather, this particular title appears to have been chosen, so that, under the generality of its scope, the various types and styles of music written for several different keyboard instruments can be accommodated. So did Bach exactly, producing not only various types of music but also those demanding high technical standards in performance.

Bach focused his target audience to "Music Lovers" alone, as here we see no reference to those "desirous of learning" which we find in the title pages of his other works of educational intent, such as Inventions and Sinfonias and the Well-Tempered Clavier. In this way Bach was able to explore musical contents of higher dimensions. In another sense, this may also have caused an unfortunate consequence, in that the circulation of these works was not as high as anticipated, and many copies remained unsold, simply because they were too technically difficult for most of the middle-class amateurs who dominated the market. Despite its high profile character, we know little about what Bach intended with the "Goldberg" Variations. For instance, there is no series number given to the title of the work, such has been given to the previous parts from one to three. So how should we interpret the lack of number "4" here? Christoph Wolff offers an answer from the point of view of the publisher's sales policy. The publisher, Balthasar Schmid of N�rnberg, was a well-known figure in the publishing business community of the day.

Wolff points out that although Schmid had been involved in the preparation of the two immediately preceding Clavier�bung parts, as one of the engravers, his responsibility for the "Goldberg" Variations was significantly increased from the previous project, for now he took over the management of the entire manufacture, printing and distribution of the new work. On this ground Wolff presumes that Schmid would not have wished to begin his association with Bach by printing just the concluding part of a series of works. Indeed his assumption seems reasonable if we imagine that Schmid would not want to receive further orders for the preceding parts of the series. There is also a problem, however, when we extend our examination to include Bach's usual stubborn character. Can we really imagine Bach conceding with the publisher's morose wish if the mention of "Part 4" were extremely significant for him? Thus it is also conceivable that Bach intended to separate the "Goldberg" Variations from the rest of the Clavier�bung series, and decided not to call it "Part 4". Unfortunately we do not have any documentary evidence for either of these interpretations, and so we have to quench our intellectual thirst with imagination.

There is some internal evidence in the pieces themselves, of course, on which we can rely to inform our judgement. One of the likely reasons is the number symbolism which lies at the heart of the work's conception. For example, Part 1 is written for a single-manual instrument; Part 2 is written for a two-manual instrument, and consists of two pieces written in two major national styles of the day; Part 3 is written for three manuals (or two manuals plus a foot pedal, to be precise), and is constructed around the number symbolism of "3", which defines the work's structure, let alone the number of subjects in the final fugue. In the "Goldberg" Variations, we cannot find number "4" with reasonable clarity at all. There seem to be some other specific purposes in the "Goldberg" Variations, which are radically different from the preceding parts of the series, although Wolff considers all the four parts "as a unified whole". The Origin of its Common Name The "Goldberg", the work's popular title, owes its existence to Forkel's famous account of the story first told in the beginning of the nineteenth-century.

As far as we can trace, it was not the original title by the composer, at least at the time of publication. Nonetheless it is worth revisiting the facts, as Forkel received numerous pieces of first-hand, credible information from the eldest two sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. In commenting on the work, Forkel tells us the following story: "For this model..., we are indebted to Count Keyserlingk, formerly Russian envoy to the court of the Elector of Saxony, who frequently resided in Leipzig, and brought with him Goldberg, who has been mentioned above, to have him instructed by Bach in music. The Count was often sickly, and then had sleepless nights. At these times Goldberg, who lived in the house with him, had to pass the night in an adjoining room to play something to him when he could not sleep. The Count once said to Bach that he should like to have some clavier pieces for his Goldberg, which should be of such a soft and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights.

Bach thought he could best fulfil this wish by variations, which, on account of the constant sameness of the fundamental harmony, he had hitherto considered as an ungrateful task. But as at this time all his works were models of art, these variations also became such under his hand. This is, indeed, the only model of the kind that he has left us. The Count thereafter called them nothing but his variations. He was never weary of hearing them; and for a long time, when the sleepless nights came, he used to say: "Dear Goldberg, do play me one of my variations." Bach was, perhaps, never so well rewarded for any work as for this: the Count made him a present of a golden goblet, filled with a hundred Louis d'ors. But their worth as a work of art would not have been paid if the present had been a thousand times as great." There is much scepticism expressed about this famous episode. For one thing, there is neither documentary evidence of the work being commissioned, nor is there an official dedication in its published title-page, thus contradicting the custom of the day.

For another, this celebrated Johann Gottlieb Goldberg (1727~56), whose skill on the harpsichord Bach knew, for he taught him when he was brought to Leipzig by Hermann Carl Reichsgraf von Keyserlingk (1696~1764) in 1737, would still have only been 14 years old when the work was published. Goldberg's compositions themselves do not display much of his acclaimed brilliance either. Lastly there is no mention of the golden goblet among the inventory of the estate when Bach died in 1750. Supposing Forkel's account contains a certain amount of truth and we are to re-examine the affair once more, it is possible to speculate, at least, that Bach might have presented to Keyserlingk a manuscript copy of the work containing the dedicatory inscription. Or it may also be explained by an episode which emerged through the natural growth of their friendship since Bach presented to him a printed copy of the work during his Dresden visit in November 1741.

Anyhow Bach must have felt grateful to Keyserlingk for his support in obtaining the title of Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Court Composer in 1736. It would be quite natural for Bach to present him a copy hot from the press regardless of the work being commissioned. Even if the tale of the commission was true, it seems very unlikely that Keyserlingk's wish was the sole decisive factor determining the style and structure of the work, for, naturally we suspect, he would be too excited by the music rather than feeling sleepy. From 1741 onwards, we can also infer that their friendship became closer than ever, as Keyserlingk's only son began his study at Leipzig University in that year. It may have been part of human nature to exchange friendly jokes as their relationship was being established: "a heap of gold = Gold (gold) Berg (mountain)" can be one of such delightful witticisms uttered on one of their social occasions. The tale of insomnia, if we are permitted to pursue our guess-work to this extent, may also be a forged story with no evil intention, simply to make the story more attractive.

The problem here is that both Friedemann and Emanuel, who supplied the information to Forkel, were not in Leipzig to witness the real episode. This clearly puts them in a weak position with regard to this kind of information. It seems that no definitive answer can be drawn until new factual evidence emerges. Historical Background and Authenticity Bach's published scores do not bear the date of publication. In the past, we used to procure an approximate dating from the newspaper articles of the day as well as letters that survived. More accurate dating was achieved fairly recently by examining the surviving printed copies themselves, extracting the unique information transferred from copper plates and the traces of corrections and annotations therein, while extending more widely the research into other works that were manufactured by the same publisher. It was Gregory Butler who identified that the "Goldberg" Variations was issued during the 1741 Michaelmas fair. The year 1741 was the time when Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier was in the final stage of compilation. These two great monumental works were composed, to some extent, side by side. Why Bach chose the form of variation is not entirely clear either, even if we may take the point of the work as being commissioned by Keyserlingk.

Unlike Corelli and Handel, who wrote impressive examples of variations, Bach showed little interest in this form: the only examples prior to the "Goldberg" Variations were all minor works, such as the early chorale partitas and Aria variata in A minor. Towards the end of the Baroque era, there was a tendency toward variations of simple character, aimed for pedagogical use. Forkel's remark about Bach's view of variations as "an ungrateful task" precisely follows this trend. Yet the fact that Bach went against this trend with the "Goldberg" Variations invites the ambitions of scholars aspiring to solve the mystery. In any case, we can see a clear continuity in the trail of Bach's compositional activities from the Well-Tempered Clavier to the Art of Fugue, where he combined the form of fugue with the single-motive structure exhibited in the "Goldberg" Variations. In the complete absence of Bach's autograph manuscripts, it is difficult to talk about the genesis of the work.

The Aria placed at the beginning of the "Goldberg" Variations, which is repeated at the end, is in fact found in Book II of Clavierb�chlein for Anna Magdalena Bach (1725), copied by herself. In this instance, the Aria bears neither the name of the composer nor the title of the piece. Thus it is possible that the author of the Aria is anonymous. This is suggested further by the fact that the ground bass melody is a traditional theme (the earlier part of it at least), many other examples of which can be found in the repertoire of the seventeenth-century. On these bases, some claim that Bach merely borrowed his sixteen-years old ideas, while others argue that Bach was not the author of this Aria. The scholars working from style analysis also argue to such an extreme extent as to regard the modulation scheme and ornamentation as un-Bachian. Recently this contentious issue became the centre of open dispute, as two scholars, Frederick Neumann, who proclaims un-Bachian theory (1985), and Robert Marshall, who supports Bach's authorship (1976/89), bitterly impugned each other.

The likely winner to be declared is Marshall, for his evidence of Anna's handwriting, which is identified as dating from the 1740s, is much stronger and more credible than those of his contender. Indeed it can be proven to some extent that she copied the Aria from one of Bach's autograph manuscripts, possibly the one he had used for writing the Stichvorlage (the exemplar for the engraving). This new understanding from source studies seems to have overpowered the previously assessed evidence presented by the style analysis. In his book of 1993, David Schulenberg points out that "the Aria is neither Italian nor French but specifically German galant in style, and certain details point directly to Bach, especially the beautiful broadening out of the rhythm into steadily flowing notes in the last phrase." The Work's Character and Structure Being composed for two-manual harpsichord, the work's most prominent feature is its abundant display of modern, fashionable expressive elements of the high Baroque with a hint of Classical idealism, not to mention its magnificent architecture and formal beauty.

All the thirty-two pieces are built upon the same thirty-two-note ground bass and its implied harmony (one per bar in the opening Aria), the rhythm of which is maintained throughout the work. The fact that the ground bass line is always decorated melodically, and never appears in what-might-be-called the "original form", becomes one of the main features of the variations. In some movements, the theme acquires different harmonic flavours, while in others it is transferred to the high pitch range by the hand-crossing texture. The Aria is a sarabande, a binary dance movement with repeats, consisting of two parts of equal length of sixteen bars each. This symmetrical structure is a prevailing feature in all the variations. In contrast, individual variations equip themselves with a unique character by having different time-signatures, the associated duration of the harmonic rhythm and other melodic materials. The concept of symmetry is also reflected in the overall shape of the work, as the thirty-two pieces are grouped into two parts. The second part begins with No.16, which is a French Overture.

This piece is strategically placed after No.15, a canon written in G minor, so that the musical impact of the overture is effectively amplified by the vivid contrast, as if it is a new beginning. Thus the concepts of "number" and symmetry become the core of the work's structure and order. When we examine how the pieces are arranged in the work, we notice that the same Aria reappears at the end (da capo) and in between these outermost movements are located thirty variations. Among these variations, nine are strict canons placed at a regular distance of every three pieces. The first to appear is the canon in unison (No.3), and until the work reaches the final canon in ninth (No.27), all the canons are systematically arranged in the ascending order of the interval between two canonic parts. It may now become obvious that the canons are organised around number "3". Inspecting more closely, we also find that the variations are also grouped in threes, consisting of free variation, variation in duet (mainly toccata), and canon, and there are ten such groups in all.

The last variation is not a canon in tenth, as might be expected, but an unusual piece entitled "Quodlibet". A quodlibet is a contrapuntal piece built upon several different melodies, and here we hear two folk tunes: "I long have been away from you, Come here, come here, come here" and "Cabbage and turnips have driven me away, Had my mother cooked meat, I'd have chosen to stay". They are traditionally understood to be Bach's humorous wit hinting at the return of the Aria to conclude the piece. Amongst other variations, there are Two-part Inventions, Fughetta, French Overture, Trio Sonata, and various dance pieces, and through to the climactic moments towards the end, we experience, with ever increasing degree, the stunning technical display of keyboard writing, such as swift and flamboyant running passages, dazzling hand-crossing movements, and trills in inner parts, as if the composer is deliberately demonstrating his virtuosity in performance. The fact that Domenico Scarlatti published the acclaimed Essercizi in 1738, which Bach could have known, may be somehow related to this particular feature of the pieces.

The Hidden Aim of the Work? The music analyses that explore various possible interpretations of the work, such as multi-layered structural divisions and groupings, may be intellectually satisfying. We cannot always determine, however, the extent to which they are based on Bach's real intentions (which can be justified from historical context) from hypothetical theories based primarily on our subjective invention. It is, indeed, very difficult to sift valid and authentic interpretations from so many speculative approaches which Bach's music attracts. For instance, in his article of 1984, David Humphreys claims that the unifying device of the work is the allegorical scheme of the work, which represents an ascent through the nine spheres of Ptolemaic cosmology, and he discredits the general consensus among listeners and players, that the work represents a purely musical unifying device, as a mistake. Humphreys first divides twenty-seven variations into three cycles, and names them as Canon (3, 6, 9 ... 27), Planet (4, 7, 10 ... 28) and Virtuoso (5, 8, 11 ...

29), then makes various attempts to associate Plato's cosmological philosophy and geometry with Bach's understanding of Affektenlehre seen in his means of expression. Still we are not at all sure whether Bach, who must have been deeply engrossed with his other duties, ever had the intention or inclination to undertake such highly abstract and profound mathematical stuff. It is amazing, to say the least, that the "Goldberg" Variations can also "refresh ... spirits" of musicologists who were not able to share such experiences from listening to the work. There is another scholarly attempt which looks into Bach's ultimate aims of the work that deserves a special mention. In his article of 1987, Alan Street claims that Bach had a specific extra-musical intention, that is, his musical rebuttal of the attacks made on his compositional styles in 1737~38 by Johann Adolph Scheibe (1708~76).

The most fascinating part of the scenario is that Bach, who was denounced by Scheibe for his lack of both general academic knowledge and the "true basis of music and its real beauty", in Scheibe's terms, decided to refute Scheibe by means of tactical employment of his knowledge of rhetoric in music of the latest style. Street argues that Bach found his resources in Quintilian's Institutio oratoria, a famous treatise by the ancient Roman orator that was popularly read in Bach's time. Based on the hypothesis that Bach used Quintilian's account of the orator's duty and resource as his ultimate inspiration, Street unfolds Bach's plan of reproach by taking Quintilian's description of forensic oratory, to address and rebut the charges. He claims that the technique of variation fits Quintilian's proposition that "best words are essentially suggested by the subject matter", interpreting that the 'subject of our speech' provides the 'best words' to be recast and reinterpreted in each variation.

Examining more closely, he recognises that the Aria, acting as the exordium, is employed as that "most attractive form which draws its material from the speech [in this case, the professed taste] of our opponent", and that while Bach is being criticised by Scheibe in the first half of the variations, he refutes Scheibe in the second half. At "Quodlibet", the climax of the work, Street interprets "Bach's jest against things intermediate - cabbages and turnips are the stuff of the 'Goldberg' - and himself as 'mother'". If Street is correct, then we can also successfully explain some mysteries, such as why Bach did not call the "Goldberg" Variations "Part 4" of Clavier�bung, and why he used the form of variations at this stage of his life.

Personal Copy of the "Goldberg" Variations The above quoted Forkel commentary of the "Goldberg" Variations in fact continues as follows: "It must be observed that, in the engraved copies of these variations, there are some important errata, which the author has carefully corrected in his copy." This is confirmed in Bach's personal copy, discovered in Strasbourg in 1974, in which we can identify many corrections and additions carefully entered by him. Using red ink for most of the corrections, Bach perhaps intended at the time to publish a second revised edition, but which never materialised. Many of Bach's alterations remove engraving mistakes; yet among them we also find Bach's later improvements, which are the very significant part of the discovery. They include tempo indications to No.7 "al tempo di Giga" and to No.25 "adagio", performance-related marks, such as staccatos and slurs, and ornaments such as mordents and appoggiaturas, all of which is very useful information for performers.

This is also the most important research material of the "Goldberg" Variations, quite apart from the manuscript copy of the Aria in the hand of Anna Magdalena, left for scholars to establish the process of revisions. Among the revisions, the most significant finding must be the added appendix consisting of a previously unknown set of fourteen canons (BWV 1087), which is written very neatly in an unused page at the back of the volume. These canons are all based on the first eight ground bass notes of the Aria. Being arranged in the order of increasing contrapuntal complexity, these canons are set to include nearly all types of canonic techniques. Such thoroughness of Bach's technical display in the canonic writing can hardly be appreciable in the musical sense but only in the theoretical sense. It is normally believed that this number "fourteen" is intended by Bach to be his numerical signature (BACH = 2 + 1 + 3 + 8 = 14). In June 1747 he became the fourteenth member of the Society of the Musical Science organised by Lorenz Christoph Mizler (1711~78).

To join the membership, Bach submitted the thirteenth canon found in the appendix of the "Goldberg" (albeit a slightly revised version, BWV 1076). This is the canon which appears in the famous portrait painted by Elias Gottlieb Haussmann (1746 and 1748). As it happened, Bach concluded the "Goldberg" Variations with his musical signature. Bach's Enduring Enigma: An Introduction To The 'Goldberg Variations' : Deceptive Cadence : NPR All this week, a look at Bach's Goldberg Variations from many points of view. Guido Bergmann/Getty Images Johann Sebastian Bach 's Goldberg Variations has become an iconic monument in Western music. On one level, it's simply a beautiful keyboard work, and on another, it's a Rubik's Cube of invention and architecture. From its apocryphal back story (based on a count's sleepless nights), to its labyrinthine structure, to the breakthrough recording by Glenn Gould , the Goldbergs carry a heavy load of compelling baggage.

Throughout this Bach birthday week — he was born 327 years ago Wednesday — we'll explore the Goldbergs with guests like Harvard professor Christoph Wolff (click the audio link above), the director of the Bach Archive in Leipzig, who helps put the music in context. Other Goldberg Week guests include pianist Jeremy Denk , whose thoughtful and offbeat sense of humor creeps into his essays , performances and videos ; pianist Lara Downes, who looks forward from Bach through the lens of today's composers; Andreas Staier, who takes us on a tour of his high-performance harpsichord; and thoughts from pianist Leif Ove Andsnes . Also look for our official interactive "Goldberg Puzzler" and lists of great Goldbergs, and Goldbergs in costume. Do you have stories, opinions or questions about the Goldberg Variations? Join the conversation this week in the comments sections of our stories, also on Facebook and Twitter @ #NPRGoldberg. And join us this Friday, Mar. 23rd at 12 noon, ET for a live online listening party.

We'll play and discuss Glenn Gould's 1955 recording of the Goldberg Variations with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tim Page (a friend of Gould's) and Washington Post classical music critic Anne Midgette. Article continues after sponsorship New to Bach's delightfully intricate and huge keyboard piece? Read on for a brief Goldberg Variations FAQ, with comments from Professor Wolff. What are the Goldberg Variations? Around 1741, Bach published a long and complicated keyboard piece, calling it Aria with diverse variations for a harpsichord with two manuals (keyboards). Wolff says it was the final work in a much larger endeavor: "This is the capstone of a publication project which is called in German Clavier-Übung — in English perhaps best translated as Keyboard Practice — where he wanted to show what was possible at the keyboard in terms of technical development, technical, virtuosic finesse and compositional sophistication." The music is constructed symmetrically, beginning with a beautifully tranquil and highly ornamented Aria, the bass line of which fuels the 30 variations that follow. There is something of a dividing line after variation 15, and the piece ends as it begins, with the return of the Aria.

Every third variation is a canon — the melody of each is laid over itself, as in "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" — with the additional complication that the pitch difference between the melodies rises from a canon in unison up to the canon in ninths. Why The Name Goldberg? Legend has it that Bach wrote the music to sooth the sleepless nights of one Count Kaiserling, who asked his private harpsichordist, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, to perform the variations. Wolff maintains the legend isn't true. "It is not true, at least not as a story that explains the origin of the work," Wolff says. "It may be related to the history of the work during Bach's time. When Bach wrote the variations, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg was 13 years of age. He apparently was a very gifted kid. He was a student of Bach's son, Wilhelm Friedemann in Dresden, but he also took lessons with J.S. Bach in Leipzig." What Is The Source Of The Variations? Although Bach published the Goldberg Variations around 1741, Wolff says he apparently came up with the opening Aria some years earlier.

"We do have a copy of just the Aria in the hand of Anna Magdalena Bach, Johann Sebastian's second wife, who was a singer," Wolff says. "She apparently wanted to play the piece, and it probably wasn't copied by her until the late 1730s." "But I think the origin goes back to an idea Bach got from Handel . Handel, in 1733, published an aria with 64 variations. The variations are based on the same Aria bass, but it's only eight measures long. And Bach thought that 'This is a wonderful idea to have many variations on such a promising ground bass. But the bass is too short for me, I'll make it longer.' So instead of eight measures, he turned it into 32 measures." Bach turned his set of 30 variations into a deeper, much more sophisticated showpiece that Handel's. It may have even been Bach's way of saying "I can do much better than you." What Happened to the Goldbergs after Bach died? There are many gaps in the story after Bach's death in 1750.

"We do not know how widely disseminated the piece was," Wolff says, "but it clearly was printed in at least 100 copies, so it was circulating quite widely. But we have no specific record of any public performances of the work essentially until the late 19th and the 20th centuries." Who were some of the first Goldberg champions? Pianist Rudolf Serkin took up the Goldberg Variations in the late 1920s, but Polish harpsichordist Wanda Landowska was the first to record the Goldbergs in the early 1930s. She was a pioneer of the harpsichord revival who went on to teach in Berlin, Paris and the U.S. She made several recordings of the Goldbergs. "I think they were really, absolutely crucial with respect to making the piece known across Europe, and then also in the United States, as a work for harpsichord, an instrument that was not very well known at the time," Wolff says. Landowska played an instrument far from what Bach would have recognized. Her late 19th-century harpsichord, Wolff says, was made with Steinway technology.

The Pleyel harpsichord had an iron frame, which meant that it held the tuning better but had a much thinner sound than wood-framed models from Bach's time. What's Up With Glenn Gould? In 1955, at age 22, Canadian pianist Glenn Gould signed a recording contract with Columbia Records and recorded the Goldberg Variations. At the time, the piece was considered esoteric and a risky choice for a debut recording. But Gould's Goldbergs exceeded all expectations, becoming a runaway bestseller and launching Gould's international career. "After this Glenn Gould recording," Wolff says, "the Goldberg Variations really had become a household word." Gould's recording is brilliantly fast, precise and transparent. He ignores Bach's repeat markings in the score, which shrinks the total time of the Goldbergs to less than 39 minutes, neatly fitting on two sides of an LP. Recordings today typically clock in between 60-80 minutes. Gould would record the Goldbergs again in 1981 with a vastly different, less flashy approach. What Would Bach Think Of Gould's recording?

"He primarily would have enjoyed knowing that more than 200 years after the work originated, it was performed by modern musicians for modern audiences," Wolff says. As far as Gould's recording being on the modern day piano, Wolff believes that it may not have mattered to Bach, as he was interested in new sonorities all his life. Bach was asked to test-drive the latest technologies in keyboard manufacturing. Piano vs. Harpsichord: What's Better? "I wouldn't want to argue about it," Wolff says. "I think a good harpsichordist on a good instrument would present the piece just as well as a pianist thinking about the stylistic requirements, using very little pedal and so forth, but making the best out of the piano sound and creating the kind of transparency that Bach's polyphonic designs require. I think there is no aesthetic difference between the two." "But I think for the listener it is a difference," Wolff concludes, "because the listener will hear things on the piano that he may not hear when the piece is performed on the harpsichord and vice versa. So I think it is a good experience to hear it both ways." Dave's J.S.

Bach Works Catalog - Keyboard Works - The Goldberg Variations Liner-Notes by Ralph Kirkpatrick from his classic 1958 recording on Archive Production The "Goldberg" Variations were first published in 1742 by Balthasar Schmid in Nürnberg under the modest title: "Keyboard-practice, consisting of an Aria with different variations for the harpsichord with two manuals. Prepared for the enjoyment of music-lovers by Johann Sebastian Bach, Polish royal and Saxon electoral court-composer, director and choir-master in Leipzig.' The Aria appears as a Sarabande in Anna Magdalena Bach's note-book of the year 1725. About the composition of these variations, Forkel 1) tells the following story, which, for all its doubtful character, has permanently attached to them the name of Bach's pupil, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg.

"For this model, upon which all sets of variations should be formed (although for comprehensible reasons not a single set has yet been thus made), we have to thank the instigation of the former Russian ambassador to the electoral court of Saxony, Count Keyserlingk, who often stopped in Leipzig and brought there with him the aforementioned Goldberg, in order to have him given musical instruction by Bach. The Count was often ill an a sleepless nights. At such times, Goldberg, who lived in his house, had to spend the night in an antechamber, so as to play for him during his insomnia. Once the Count mentioned in Bach's presence that he would like to have some clavier pieces for Goldberg, which should be of such a smooth and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights. Bach thought himself best able to fulfill this wish by means of variations, the writing of which he had until then considered an ungrateful task on account of the repeatedly similar harmonic foundation. Thereafter the Count always called them his variations.

He never was tired of them, and for a long time during sleepless nights he meant: 'Dear Goldberg, do play me one of my variations.' Bach was perhaps never so rewarded for one of his works as for this. The Count presented him with a golden goblet filled with 100 louis-d'or. Nevertheless, even had the gift been a thousand times larger, their artistic value would not yet have been paid for." Like an enormous passacaglia, these variations reiterate the harmonic implications of the same bass in thirty different forms. This fundamental bass is never stated entirely in its most elemental form not even in the Aria. But on this harmonic skeleton and around it are constructed the variations, each highly organized and composed of independent thematic material. These follow one another in a symmetrical grouping like the beads of a rosary. The form of the variations as a whole may be shown by comparison, as before, to that of a rosary, or perhaps better explained by an architectural analogy; Framed as if between two terminal pylons, one formed by the Aria and the first two variations, the other by the two penultimate variations and the Quodlibet, the variations are grouped like the members of an elaborate colonnade.

The groups are composed of a canon and' an elaborate two-manual arabesque, enclosing in each case another variation of independent character. Following upon the pylon-like group which terminates this rhythmic procession, the Aria repeated closes the great circle. There are nine canons, at intervals successively from the unison to the ninth, those at the fourth and fifth in contrary motion, that at the ninth without any independent third voice, such as accompanies the others. Among the variable forms are to be found a fughetta, a French overture, florid slow movements, etc. The Quodlibet mixes together the tunes of two folk-songs: "Ich bin so lang nicht bei dir g'west. Ruck her, ruck her, ruck her." and: "Kraut und Räben haben mich vertrieben, hätt' mein' Mutter Fleisch gekocht, so wär' ich länger blieben." These might be translated thus: "I've not been with you for so long. Come closer, closer, closer." "Beets and spinach drove me far away.

Had my mother cooked some meat, then I'd have stayed much longer." The following passage from the preface to my edition of the Goldberg Variations, published by G. Schirmer, New York, represents a kind of writing which I feel should not ordinarily be indulged. It was written nearly twenty-five years before the making of the present recording. Yet in the intervening time, despite modifications in the interpretation of a few variations, my sentiments have not fundamentally changed. "However much it is an act of impudence thus to discuss something which is far too profound and complex to be grasped in words, it seems necessary to confess some of the feelings which inevitably come with the playing of this music. The Aria seems to foreshadow the spirit of the whole work through the tenderness and calm with which the solemnity of the fundamental bass is clothed at its initial appearance. The first variation stands like a festive gateway leading to the inner world exposed in the following three variations. These, like so many of the canons and the Aria, have an unearthly pure sweetness and a lyricism in every phrase that makes one long to dissolve one's fingers, the instrument, and one's whole self into three or four singing voices.

For a moment this quiet lyricism is interrupted by the shining smooth swiftness of the first arabesque variation (5). Then comes a second canon of an almost nostalgic tenderness; then a faraway scherzo (7) of the utmost lightness and delicacy. The following arabesque and canon return to a lyricism which is interrupted by the brusque roughness of the Fughetta (10). This is followed by the delicate network of the third arabesque and the sunny canon at the fourth. Then comes a flute aria (13) of a breath-taking quiet pure joy. The humour of the fourth arabesque makes even more striking the appearance of the dark tragic canon at the fifth which ends the first half of the variations. The second half opens with a majestic French Overture (16), followed by one of the lightest of the arabesque variations. In the sixth canon and the lute-variation (19) we return to a lyric sweetness like that of the beginning, even more peaceful. Another scherzo arabesque contrasts with the sombre seventh canon, which in turn joins on to the alla breve variation (22).

This, for all its quicker tempo, transforms the chromatic pathos of the canon into that kind of serene chastened joy which follows pain. In the seventh arabesque we burst forth in the most unrestrained exuberant joy, which is tranquilized in the gentle rocking of the canon at the octave. Again we are interrupted to be carried to even greater tragic heights on the waves of a quiet yet irresistibly passionate aria. From the eighth arabesque (26) on, the variations mount through a sprightly canon, glittering trills (28), and waltz-like bravura (29) to the final jubilant climax in the Quodlibet (30), upon which the repetition of the Aria falls like a benediction, But for all their lyricism and tragic passion and exuberance, the Aria and the Variations seem of a divine substance entirely refined and purified of anything personal or ignoble, so that in playing them one seems only the unworthy mouthpiece of a higher voice.

But how Bach himself in pious humility would ridicule these high-sounding words of ours with a wry face and with god-like laughter: 'Kraut und Rüben...'" Ralph Kirkpatrick 1) Uber Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben, Kunst und Kunstwerke, IX (1802). a+30+a' goldberg variations - works about the WORK This work, the Goldberg Variations was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach ( 1685-1750 ) in 1741 - 42. The title, 'Goldberg Variations' was not named by J.S.Bach. It was taken from a critical biography written by Forkel and published in 1802, which is fifty two years following Bach's death. First of all, Bach titled it "Keyboard Practice, consisting of an Aria with divers Variations for the Harpsichord with two manuals". And it was published as "Vierter Teil der Clavier-Ubung IV" by Baltharsar Schmid in 1742. On the cover it is written "Keyboard Practice, consisting of an Aria with diverse Variations for the Harpsichord with two manuals.

Composed for enjoyment for music lovers by Johann Sebastian Bach, Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Count Kapellmeister and Choirmaster in Leipzig." Actually They didn't mention about "IV". - Biography by Forkel Johann Nikolaus Forkel ( 1749-1818 ) was the first person who wrote a critical biography of J.S.Bach. The quotation regarding the Goldberg Variations from his pioneering biography shows us clear background of this tune. we are indebted to Count Keyserlingk ... who frequently resided in Leipzig, and brought with him Johann Gottlieb Goldberg [1727-56], to have him instructed by Bach in music. The Count was often sickly, and thus had sleepless nights. At these times Goldberg, who lived in the house with him, had to pass/spend the night in an adjoining room to play something for him when he could not sleep. The Count once said to Bach that he should like to have some clavier/keyboard pieces for his Goldberg, which should be of such a soothing and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights.

Bach thought he could best fulfil this wish by variations, which, on account of the constant sameness of the fundamental harmony, he had hitherto considered (the work as) an ungrateful task. ... the Count thereafter called them nothing but his variations. He was never weary of hearing them; and for a long time, whenever he could not sleep at night, he used to say: "Dear Goldberg, do play for me one of my variations." Keyserlingk proved a particularly generous patron, presenting Bach with a gold goblet filled with 100 louis d'or, which, the equivalent of approximately 500 thalers, was almost Bach's annual salary as Thomaskantor. ( from Johann Nikolaus Forkel: "Johann Sebastian Bach's Life, Genius, and Works" ) There is a doubt that Bach didn't composed such tune which requires technical skill for young, Goldberg as he was probably less than fourteen years old at that time on the view from study of histrical investigation. And there is another doubt to his document on the reason that there was no description about the presentation for the Count in spite of his being given such a high reward.

about the COMPOSITION : as the Goldberg Variations This tune consist of an Aria as a theme and thirty diverse variations. The Aria, which was used as theme, appeared as "Sarabande" (26th piece, BWV.988/1) in Anna Magdalene Bach's Notebook of 1725. However, nowadays this theory is considered to be oposite and there is no doubt Bach copied it to the Notebook after completion of the Goldberg Variations. Sarabande was composed with so many ornamentations, it seems to be too difficult to use as a theme of variations. Actually, the bass line, not the soprano melody, was taken for a base of the theme for the following variations. The theme was varied based on the bass line, which consists of 32 bars. The number of bars of the Aria -32- is equal to the number of the music piece which constitute the whole tune. More over, the number of notes of the bass line as theme is also equal to them.

It means if we consider basic cadence as one unit and a whole note as one beat, one phrase costitutes eight units, and each variation constitutes 32 units which is eight units multiple four phrases. However, most of the variations consist of 32 bars, as one unit is equal to one bar. Only 3rd, 9th, 21st, 30th variations have a half, which is 16 bars. Only exception is the 16th variation and it constitutes 47 bars. Thus the theme runs throughout all the variations. It is very clear that the tune is started with the Aria and is varied into thirty variations, then it is closed by the Aria again. It is just the same as Glenn Gould'd life. He had his debut with this tune and close his life with this tune. It is also a smart direction that Bach placed the Quodlibet "I've not been with you for so long" as 30th variation. In other sence, the reprising of Arie may suggest us an endless loop. We know this tune is devided into two. The second group starts with the 16th variation, which is a French overtune.

To consider about these two groups, there are more instructions to play with the two manual keyboard on the second half than the firt one. So, the sound gets more sophisticated towerds the 30th variation and close the tune with the calm opening Aria. We can also realize this tune intentinaly divided into three groups based on the 16th variations, which is a French overtune. It means that Bach put the Fugatos in 10th variation, which is six pieces of variations before the 16th variation and 22nd , which is six after the 16th variation. The 30 variations have an ingenious infrastructure, they are divided into ten groups of three pieces. The first variation of each group is a canon. The last variation of each group is a brilliant technical two manual keyboard music (Italian method). Between the two is a free style variations. It means that every third variation is a canon. Those canons have different intervals . The first one is with an unison interval, the second one with second and so force till the ninth intervals. J.E.Dahler said, 'Canons with all the possibility of different intervals.

They are well organized from the minimum intervals to the maximum one ' These canons are the main constructure of this tune. Every other canons' time alternate odd and even. This is very useful to vary the strict style and this has a strong influence on change and contrust in tempo. Study of canon of 'Goldberg Variations' by Georg-Albrecht Eckle is writtenon a liner of his CD, and it is very interesting. If you are interested is, please reffer to it. At any rate, 'Goldberg Variations' is accurately constructed, surprisingly wonderful tune !! about the COMPOSITION : as Aria and each variation This is a summery of various explanations written about this tune. Each variations has a title. They were set by Jörg Ewald Dähler and his master, Fritz Neumeyer in order to indicate guidance to appreciate this tune. Since they are unique, I thought it would be interesting.

Revised by Hans-Ruedi Schuetz(Jan.28.2005) Aria This aria is used as a theme which appears as 'Sarabande' (26th piece, BWV.988/1) in Anna Magdalena Notebeook' composed in 1725. Variation 01. ( Les Polonaises ) Classical Classics - Bach's Goldberg Variations, Classical Notes, Peter Gutmann It seems so ironic - one of the supreme masterworks of music, which has enthralled legions of scholars and performers for ages, was meant to put its first audience to sleep! The so-called Goldberg Variations of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) is believed to have been a gift to a Count Kayserling, an influential musical devotee who had secured for Bach an appointment as official composer to the Saxon court. Beyond being a deep honor, the title provided Bach much-needed royal protection against the pettiness of his employers, with whom he rarely got along. From his earliest days as a church organist, Bach was faulted for confusing congretations with flights of invention rather than strictly accompanying their hymns.

Throughout his career, he constantly railed against the inadequacy of the players and resources with which he had to work. The Count suffered from bouts of insomnia and had hired one of Bach's finest pupils, the fourteen-year old Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, to play for him during his restless nights. To soothe the Count, Bach wrote this piece, formally entitled Aria With Diverse Variations for Harpsichord with Two Manuals, in 1741. In gratitude, the Count sent Bach 100 louis d'or, an extraordinary sum far exceeding his annual salary. Bach clearly cherished the Variations himself, as they comprised one of only four volumes of keyboard works he published. Yet, while Bach was revered during his lifetime as a great organist who could brilliantly improvise an entire two-hour concert, his compositions were largely dismissed as the type of functional and disposable material which all performers of the time were expected to produce routinely for their own use. We now acclaim Bach's art as the culmination of a millennium of musical development. Serious Western music began in the Middle Ages with Gregorian chant, a stylization of speech in which a bare melody imitated the verbal inflection of prayer.

Chant was a continuous horizontal art, using a single note at a time. The first glimmer of change came around 1100 by adding another voice at the octave, fifth or fourth. Next, melodies were added above the foundation of a chant. Polyphony flowered as up to four independent voices competed for attention. By the 18th Century, the system had matured into an extraordinary profusion of forms, harmonies and rhythms. Bach's Art of Fugue and Well-Tempered Clavier are often considered the apex of polyphony and the purest expression of his creativity. But perhaps the ultimate display of the full range of Bach's art, as well as the outlet for his deepest, most personal feelings is the Goldberg Variations. Like all great music, the key to understanding it lies in admiring its fantasy and ingenuity within formal restrictions - freedom within limits. Bach begins and ends with a simple, The beginning of the aria from Bach's autograph score gracious, unadorned song (the aria) he had written years earlier for his wife. Unlike most variations that focus upon a melody, the Goldberg set follows only the bass of Bach's song and its implied harmonies.

Each of the thirty variations retains the aria's structure of two 16-bar halves, the first rising from tonic to dominant, and the second, through a chromatic excursion, returning back home to the tonic. But within that basic design, they comprise an amazing abundance of styles and moods. Every third variation is a canon in which regular repetitions of a simple melody overlap and intermingle (as in Row, Row, Row Your Boat). The first canon (variation # 3) is in unison (ie: each repetition begins on the same note as the original), and then the intervals increase: #6 is at the second, #9 at the third, all the way up to #27 at a ninth. Bach clearly was intrigued with such formal possibilities - his personal copy of the Goldberg Variations, found only in 1975, contained sketches for 14 more canons on the same bass.

In between the canons The same passage in a modern edition are a lusty dance (#4), a graceful waltz (#7), a fugue (#10), swirling harp-like arpeggiations (#11), a dreamy reverie (#15), an overture (#16), a quidoblet (#30, in which Bach combines two folk songs) and, most striking of all, an astoundingly modern-sounding chromatic meditation (#25) in which all conventional notions of tempo are suspended. The technique ranges from rudimentary two-parts (the aria itself) to fiendishly difficult passages of rapid note clusters (#s 14 and 23), blindingly fast trills (#28) and a furious sinuous line split between the hands (#29) (the intertwining parts of which are far harder to realize on modern instruments than on those of Bach's time which had a separate keyboard for each hand). Bach never expected his music to survive him. Indeed, toward the end of his life polyphonic music like the Goldberg Variations, in which each voice was of equal importance, was already considered old-fashioned.

Even his own sons were pioneering a new and simpler style of harmonized melodies which would form the basis for nearly all the music we now love. While Mozart, Beethoven and other professionals would become enthralled with the structural marvels of Bach's finely-crafted polyphony, the public relegated both the music and the harpsichord for which it was written to museums and ancient texts. There they languished until 1903, when a young Polish pianist launched their revival. Through the remaining six decades of her life, Wanda Landowska tirelessly researched, taught, performed and crusaded for the harpsichord (in which strings are plucked with quills rather than struck with a padded hammer, as in a piano) and for authentic Bach, albeit through the filter of her own considerable ego. Her concerts were theatrical events, given from stages set as Baroque living rooms, as if to demand that audiences enter an antiquated world and meet her only on her own terms.

Landowska also generated one of the great put-downs of all time – when a pianist dared to criticize her performance, she replied: That's fine - you play Bach your way and I'll play Bach his way! Given her crucial role in restoring Bach to public favor, it's fitting that Landowska waxed the very first recording of the Goldberg Variations in 1933 (now on EMI 61008, coupled with a massively dramatic Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue). Unfortunately, the crude sound largely obscures the delicate texture and sparkling harmonics that give the harpsichord its distinctive flavor, a problem only partially cured in her 1946 remake (BMG 60919). Despite her fervent advocacy, and although a revelation in its time, Landowska's playing is dignified, reserved and somewhat stodgy and graceless, although charged with a compelling sense of humanism and commitment that remains deeply touching.

Although the harpsichord is impervious to touch, producing the same volume and tone no matter how a key is pressed, Landowska compensates for the fixed dynamics by intensively coloring her tone through exploiting various registers of her custom-built instrument. A second pioneer was another young pianist, Canadian Glenn Gould , who chose the Goldberg Variations for his sensational debut recording in 1955. In marked contrast to Landowka's deference to authenticity, Gould regarded Bach as ripe for modern exploration and realized his deeply personal vision of extreme tempos, huge dynamics and phenomenal technique on a concert grand. His album (on Sony SK 52594) still startles with its precision, crisp rhythms and dazzlingly clear counterpoint. Vibrant and exciting, yet deeply respectful of the inherent values of the source, it ushered in modern enthusiasm for Bach by combining the feel of a harpsichord with the romantic impulse and augmented resources of the piano - several variations are blindingly swift, while in the heart-rending 25th time nearly stands still, hanging on each poignant note.

If portions seem a bit sterile and more inspired by the editing block than the human soul, a live 1959 Salzburg version (Sony SMK 52685), tempers the studio volatility with more feeling and atmosphere. One of Gould's final projects was a 1981 remake (Sony SMK 52619), in which his former fire and impulse cede to finely-graded dynamics, control and spirituality. In the last half-century, the popularity of the Goldberg Variations has soared. A Japanese website having charmingly fractured English and the clever URL of (get the pun?) catalogues 240 recordings (plus hundreds of reissues) on LP and CD, ranging from the traditional harpsichord or piano to arrangements for strings, organ, band and the Canadian Brass. If Bach could return after a quarter millennium, surely he would be astounded! Of the several dozen renditions currently available, one of the most distinctive is by Rosalyn Tureck (DG 459 599), which contains a marvelous CD ROM feature of a score which can be printed or followed on screen and which compels appreciation for Bach's wondrous construction.

In addition, a MIDI element lets you experiment with dynamics, phrasing, embellishments and tempos to craft your own performance (and learn the artistic value of these techniques in the process). As for Tureck's rarefied, magisterial performance, it's a throwback to Bach's culture, light-years removed from our present age of constant and immediate gratification. Her deliberate unfolding of a multi-layered masterpiece observes all repeats and consumes 91 minutes (Gould's ran 37!), charging every phrase with cosmic weight and emerging as a profound experience. Equally personal is the 1968 recording by Maria Yudina (Philips 456 994), who played as she lived - an outcast religious dissident in Communist Russia whose irrepressible sense of freedom kindled her artistry. Sharing Bach's belief in music as a direct route to God, she plays every note with a gripping conviction and even adds her own embellishments. Yudina's Goldbergs combine enormously assertive and virile strength with startling dynamics and vast rhythmic elasticity. Music this rich will continue to attract great artists and inspire great renditions in every generation.

Among the most recent interpreters, Murray Perahia, from July, 2000 (Sony 88243), displays an exquisite sensitivity and breathtaking control, with every phrase beautifully shaped. And for the rock generation, those in search of bolder Bach have Anthony Newman, whose bright, bold and insistent 1975 Columbia recording is larger than life, constantly pressing forward with unabashed virtuosity, its impact heightened by close miking for dense registration and immediate sound. Newman concludes not with a dutiful repeat of the aria but with a heavily embellished version that, as his notes observe, complete the monumental work "in the grand style that it so appropriately deserves." His sense of daring is reflected in the bizarre album cover by James Grashaw, which depicts a rainbow of notes issuing from the mouth of the composer, whose bust, in turn, is swallowed by a person, a beaver, a snake and a fish! Still not convinced? To test the waters, you might try Christiane Jaccottet on Point 265011.

Despite incorrectly labeled tracks, minimal packaging and a rushed and ineffective variation #25, and while lacking the vision and polish of the others, it sells for a pittance yet manages to convey the basic idea well enough. Could I ever imagine these compelling records lulling me to sleep? Not in my wildest dreams! Copyright 2002 by Peter Gutmann Bach: Goldberg Variations | Nonesuch Records - MP3 Downloads, Free Streaming Music, Lyrics Friday, May 12, 1995 - 04:00 DescriptionExcerpt: This creative adaptation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations by Russian-born violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky for strings cast a fresh light on that formidable monument of keyboard music.

The New York Times called it “robust, joyous and full of insight.” The performers, wrote The New Yorker, "combines interpretive insight with exemplary playing; even suspicious purists will hear contrapuntal felicities that keyboard players can only suggest.” Description: The Russian-born violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky, who founded the New European Strings Chamber Orchestra in 1990, has enthusiastically practiced the art of transcription for many years, producing more than 25 new string arrangements of chamber and keyboard works. This is Sitkovetsky’s first project for Nonesuch, a creative adaptation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for strings, cast a fresh light on that formidable monument of keyboard music. The New York Times called it “robust, joyous and full of insight.” The abundance of superbly-trained string players in Russia, the longstanding Russian tradition of encouraging such ensembles, and Sitkovetsky’s great interest in studying orchestration led him to found the NES Chamber Orchestra, who proved to be ideal interpreters.

The New Yorker, in a review of this recording, wrote: “[T]he New European Strings Chamber Orchestra combines interpretive insight with exemplary playing; even suspicious purists will hear contrapuntal felicities that keyboard players can only suggest.” ProductionCredits:

Question: Who composed The Goldberg Variations'?
Answer: JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH