The 1982 recording of Glenn Gould playing Johann Sebastian Bach's famous Goldberg Variations.
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Goldberg Variations
The Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, is a workfor harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30variations. First published in 1741, the work is considered to be one of themost important examples of variation form. The Variations are named afterJohann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may have been the first performer.
Composition
The tale of how the variations came to becomposed comes from an early biography of Bach by Johann Nikolaus Forkel:
Forthis work we have to thank the instigation of the former Russian ambassador tothe electoral court of Saxony, Count Kaiserling, who often stopped in Leipzig and brought therewith him the aforementioned Goldberg, in order to have him given musicalinstruction by Bach. The Count was often ill and had sleepless nights. At suchtimes, Goldberg, who lived in his house, had to spend the night in anantechamber, so as to play for him during his insomnia. ... Once the Countmentioned in Bach's presence that he would like to have some clavier pieces forGoldberg, which should be of such a smooth and somewhat lively character thathe might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights. Bach thoughthimself best able to fulfill this wish by means of Variations, the writing ofwhich he had until then considered an ungrateful task on account of therepeatedly similar harmonic foundation. But since at this time all his workswere already models of art, such also these variations became under his hand.Yet he produced only a single work of this kind. Thereafter the Count alwayscalled them his variations. He never tired of them, and for a long timesleepless nights meant: 'Dear Goldberg, do play me one of my variations.' Bachwas perhaps never so rewarded for one of his works as for this. The Countpresented 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 notyet have been paid for.
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