JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH. GOLDBERG VARIATIONS
When searching for the words “Goldberg Variations” on the web, the search engine returns around 27 million results. It is one of Bach’s most famous opuses, but not every pianist or harpsichordist is ready for the challenge-filled journey these variations invite on, for which they must sacrifice both their everyday disguises and roles, and their comfortable illusions of the present. This music forcefully bares, cleanses, and comforts. It is said the variations were commissioned to Bach by Count von Keyserling with the special intent to aide the nervous highborn’s feeble sleep. Usually known for his romantic and contemporary interpretations, the pianist Reinis Zariņš has returned to Latvia after several years of intensive study in London to invite the audiences on a musically effective and meditative journey into the depths of Bach’s sonic ocean.
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Participants
Reinis Zariņš, piano