Bach, J S: Goldberg Variations, BWV988

I had the score of the Goldberg Variations on my piano for twenty years before I dared open it. I’d always played a lot of Bach, ever since I was a little girl; but somehow the reputation of this piece intimidated me, so I got on with playing his other works – partitas, preludes and fugues, French suites and concertos, even the Art of Fugue (which is very daunting). Finally I opened the first page, to the Aria. G major is very kind, benevolent key, and the opening is intimate and confiding; the early variations are sunny, warm, humorous. Rather a like a cliffhanging plot, each variation somehow contains the seeds of the next one, until you’re drawn into the deepest part of a labyrinth; the music grows complex, and turns dark, weary, tragic. But holding tightly onto the thread, we’re out again, back with domestic life, singing the Aria once more. The music is the same, but we have changed. So the surprise is, then, that the Goldbergs manage to be both dreamlike and reflective – a nod to the fable they were written to cure a case of aristocratic insomnia – as well as earthy, discursive and playful. Boogie woogie players talk about having ‘a left hand like God’, and surely Bach’s descending bass lines – the springboard for every variation, as well as contributing a witty commentary – deserve a whole study of their own. It also strikes me as an extraordinarily contemporary piece, by which I mean Bach imitates all his contemporaries (Scarlatti, Rameau, Corelli and Handel) but does them competitively better; and all to a self-imposed scheme, a set of rising canons every three variations. There’s an unstoppable life force in the music, which encompasses despair and solitude, as well as joy From the liner notes by Joanna MacGregor

Frank Pelleg, a pianist, harpsichordist, composer, musicologist, conductor, philosopher and a teacher - was clearly one of the most illustrious musicians of the 20th century. In addition to his expertise in the performance of Bach and the Baroque era, he was equally a brilliant performer of the classical period and a champion of new music, particularly of Israeli composers. He was a remarkable, delightful and a charismatic person, an original with a great sense of humor, superb communication ability and had an amazing memory (he could perform most of Mozart’s piano concertos on a moment’s notice from memory). Always active with relentless enthusiasm, his untimely death at the age of 57 was a sad event to all who knew him and the entire musical world.

This is the last of Stefan Vladir’s opening discs of the series. Further releases will showcase young talented musicians as well as established and renowned artists.

In 1883 Joseph Rheinberger arranged J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations (written for harpsichord with two manuals) for two pianos and carefully added some extra parts. This made the work more three-dimensional, giving it greater volume and plasticity. Some 20 years later, the composer and pianist Max Reger revised this arrangement, adding his own dynamics, articulation and tempo markings. These changes give the work additional colour and splendour, while still maintaining the spirit of the original work. The Israeli pianist Yaara Tal and her German partner Andreas Groethuysen are the world´s leading piano duo. Besides an unsurpassed homogeneity and spontaneity in their playing, an untiring creativity in offering unprecedented programs which also uncover unjustly neglected treasures of the repertoire, is considered as a special trademark of the duo.

“Halls is a formidably talented young keyboard player, bursting with energy and inspiration.” Evening Standard

“His inventive and ebullient playing is a delight.” Daily Telegraph

Matthew Halls is one of the brightest sparks of the UK early music scene, who, as director of Retrospect Ensemble, has rapidly established himself as one of Britain's most exciting young conductors as well as a leading harpsichordist. ‘J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations’, features Bach’s popular masterpiece for keyboard, plus Sarabanda con Partite and Aria Variata.

Matthew Halls’ debut solo recording presents J.S. Bach’s most significant variation sets for harpsichord in this, the second release in the Retrospect series.

The Goldberg Variations is a work that that continues to fascinate and astound performers and listeners alike. The artistry and technique it demands is met with virtuosic skill and innate musical understanding by Matthew Halls.

The two earlier works, Sarabanda con Partite and Aria Variata, show the extent to which Bach had become the true master of this composition technique by the time he came to compose The Goldberg Variations.

Matthew Halls is Artistic Director of Retrospect Ensemble, whose debut recording, ‘Henry Purcell: Ten Sonatas in Four Parts’, was shortlisted for a Classic FM Gramophone Award in 2009.

He has enjoyed a busy and exciting career, playing with many of the world’s leading period instrument orchestras, including the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Les Arts Florissants, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, Theatre of Early Music, Montreal and New York Collegium.

As a keyboard soloist he has appeared at the Cheltenham International Festival; Händel Festspiele, Göttingen, Händel Festspiele, Halle; Enescu Festival, Bucharest; Ottawa International Chamber Festival; Antiquarium Festival, Moscow, Lamèque Festival, Canada and Dias da Mùsica, Lisbon.

There have been many arrangements of the Goldberg Variations. The intention of this one for two viols is to enable a realization with as few fundamental alterations as possible to the original musical text. The work remains in the original key of G Major. Basically one player takes the part of the left hand of the harpsichordist and one that of the right hand.

Performed on the great historical organ: Gottfried Silbermann Organ (1755) from the Cathedral Dresden (Catholic Court Church)

Rost has won many prizes for his organ playing, including one for the Bach Competition in Leipzig. He is a professor of the organ and lectures at institutions such as the Royal Academy of Music and the Chopin Academy in Warsaw. There has been much interest in his recordings of the complete organ works of Petr Eben.