Notabene: Goldberg Variations

Concert Program: Johann Sebastian Bach — Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (transcription for string trio by Dmytro Sitkovetsky) According to legend, in the service of Count Keyserlingk there was a talented young man, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg — a harpsichordist, a student of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and later of Johann Sebastian Bach himself. As the Count suffered from insomnia, Goldberg was often called upon to soothe his employer’s suffering with music. One day, the Count asked Bach to write several harpsichord pieces for Goldberg, filled with gentleness and cheer, to enliven his sleepless nights. Bach decided to compose a cycle of variations — a form that had not previously held much interest for him. Yet in his masterful hands, an exemplary work of art was born. The Count was so delighted with them that he called them “my variations.” He would often say: “My dear Goldberg, play me one of my variations.” It is said that Bach was never so generously rewarded for his music: the Count presented him with a golden goblet filled with one hundred louis d’or. We cannot fully vouch for the absolute authenticity of this story, but we can state with confidence that the Goldberg Variations are among the greatest works of Johann Sebastian Bach and of world musical culture as a whole. At this concert, the NotaBene Chamber Group will perform the work in Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s arrangement for string trio.

• Location:
  Kyiv House of Scientists
• In Program:
  J. S. Bach — Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
• Performers:
  Artem Poludennyi /cello/ Ihor Zavhorodnii /viola/ Andrii Pavlov /violin/ NotaBene Chamber Group /chamber ensemble/
• Duration:
  1 hours 20 minutes