BACH GOLDBERG VARIATIONS FULL
He took the piece’s unusual status-a theme-and-variation work so varied that it could be hard for a lay audience to follow-and realized that it could be performed with modernist vigor, full of wild twists of character. But instead of seeming like an impudent youngster, Gould’s innovations signaled a clear love for the source material. His body flailed up and down his creaky chair, displaying melodramatic physical gestures-the very cliche of a young genius at work. In addition to playing the work on a piano instead of on the 18th-century era-appropriate harpsichord, Gould rushed tempos and varied his attack with aggression. Gould made his counter-argument for the piece’s rightful prominence by taking wild liberties with the source. With his 1955 recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the young pianist made a compelling case for a work that, at the time, was considered an obscure keyboard composition by an otherwise imposing master of Baroque music. Fittingly, throughout the 20th century, there would be no more audacious and initially unsettling act of musical reinterpretation than Gould’s debut studio recording. It was these initial, broadly trumpeted peculiarities that helped shape the Gould myth throughout his too-short life, the audacious genius who slightly unsettled everyone around him. He also brought his own bottles of water, which, for 1955, was still something that seemed like only Howard Hughes would do. He soaked his arms in hot water for up to 20 minutes before takes and brought a wide variety of pills. Instead of nobly holding his head high with a proper recitalist’s posture, Gould’s modified piano bench allowed him to get his face right near the keys, where he would proceed to hum audibly while playing. Bach’s Goldberg Variations for the label. … It was a balmy June day, but Gould arrived in a coat, beret, muffler and gloves.” The rest of the bulletin detailed the other peculiarities that Gould had brought along with him when recording J.S. But even these hardy souls were surprised by the arrival of young Canadian pianist Glenn Gould and his ‘recording equipment’ for his first Columbia sessions. 30, recorded by Tafelmusik musicians in their homes in April 2020.The press release began: “Columbia Masterworks’ recording director and his engineering colleagues are sympathetic veterans who accept as perfectly natural all artists’ studio rituals, foibles, or fancies. Want a teaser of what to expect? Enjoy this video of Elisa Citterio's arrangements of Variations no. Johann Sebastian Bach Goldberg Variations (world premiere of a new transcription for orchestra by Elisa Citterio) Grégoire Jeay The Phantom of Goldberg (harpsichord solo) Single ticket access for this concert will be made available on May 12, 2022. Sure to be a highlight of the 2021/22 season, this extraordinary program opens with a solo work for harpsichord by Canadian composer Grégoire Jeay, performed by Tafelmusik’s Charlotte Nediger.ĭigital Season Passes are available now! Don’t wait for tickets to go on sale, buy a pass today and gain access to all current releases and more. Elisa first envisioned the new arrangement in 2017, when Tafelmusik performed orchestral transcriptions of two excerpts of The Goldberg Variations during a tour of its multimedia program J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations was written as an exercise in keyboard virtuosity and remains among the most technically demanding works ever written for harpsichord. Inspired by Bach’s practice of reworking his music, Elisa Citterio offers her own musical translation of the composer’s timeless keyboard masterpiece in this new arrangement for strings, winds, and continuo. Join us for the world premiere of Bach’s Goldberg Variations in a new orchestral arrangement by Music Director Elisa Citterio Elisa Citterio director and orchestral arrangement