Bach: Goldberg Variations

Read About This Recording

The Goldberg Variations have intrigued listeners for years. They were originally written by Bach in 1741 as a keyboard teaching tool — like the Well-Tempered Clavier — and were named for Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may have been the first performer and was a student of Bach's. There is a legend that Herr Goldberg was in the employ of a German nobleman who suffered from insomnia and loved to hear Goldberg play during these bouts to help calm his nerves and keep him company. It is with this that Goldberg asked Bach for a work for clavier "of such a smooth and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights." Bach thought a set of variations would do the trick and the rest, as they say, is history.

The set comprises an aria and 30 variations and is considered not only a difficult work but has become a benchmark for pianists everywhere. This Goldberg himself must've been quite a player! It was Glenn Gould who gave the "Goldbergs" their greatest boost to 20th century audiences via his celebrated 1955 recording for CBS and again in 1981. The Goldberg Variations now hold a firm place in music history.

Over the years, the Goldberg Variations have been arranged and reworked freely by many performers and composers including versions for organ, guitar, string trio, brass and even jazz trio. Catrin Finch performs the Goldberg Variations on harp, an instrument quite suited to the work, though with no dampening device or pedal, the independent lines tend to blur. It's less of a problem in slower variations where the harp's true quality and lightness is ubiquitous. Catrin Finch explains that the idea for this recording "came from a suggestion by my former manager, who knew I was on the lookout for new possibilities for the instrument. I immediately sensed it would be an interesting thing to attempt, though I wasn't sure that it would work."

An absorbing and compelling recording, Catrin Finch offers a new take on an old classic. Recommended.

—J. Maxwell Fletcher

Quotes

"One of classical's most exciting, prodigiously brilliant young stars." —Classic FM Magazine

"Catrin Finch plays her own Goldberg Variations transcription with a consistently suave yet variegated tone, nimble fingers, and ear-tickling nuance." —Classics Today

Extended Article

Bach's Goldberg Variations represent a formidable challenge — and not only to keyboard players. Here acclaimed harpist Catrin Finch makes her Deutsche Grammophon debut with the first complete Goldberg recordings on harp, playing her own transcription. "It is a real pleasure to see this challenging project fulfilled — some variations actually work better on the harp than they do on the piano. My hope is that this arrangement will come to occupy a respected place in the harp's repertoire," notes Finch, "one of classical's most exciting, prodigiously brilliant young stars" (Classic FM magazine).

Contents

Goldberg Variations, BWV988.

Catrin Finch, Harp.

CD Special Features

• First recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations on the harp

• Catrin Finch's Deutsche Grammophon debut album

• "One of classical's most exciting, prodigiously brilliant young stars." —Classic FM Magazine