Description

Bach – Goldberg Variations – Piano

• Publisher: Dover
• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
• Format: Softcover
• Length: 64 p.

• According to Bach s first biography, the Goldbergs were written for one of the composer s most talented pupils, who used them to entertain and soothe his insomniac master during bouts of sleeplessness. Subsequent historians have had their doubts about the story s authenticity, but the composer certainly intended his work as a diversion for listeners. Upon its 1742 publication, Bach entitled it Keyboard Practice, consisting of an Aria with Diverse Variations, for the Harpsichord with 2 Manuals. Composed for Music Lovers, to Refresh their Spirits.

  As Glenn Gould remarked, the title offers a very down-to-earth description of a monumental work. Long regarded as the Baroque era s most important set of variations, the Goldbergs were relatively unknown when he chose them for his recording debut in the 1950s. The sensation created by his still-popular recordings revivified the piece in concert performances, in which spectators delight in its virtuosic hand-crossings. This affordable edition of the widely performed and appreciated work is essential for all serious pianists and music lovers.

  Reprint of the Gesellschaft, Leipzig, 1853 edition.