Performing the Goldberg Variations is a public rite of passage for many contemporary pianists, but that wasn’t the case before the early 20th century. This video is a reception history focusing on the long path the Goldberg Variations took from being privately admired to publicly proclaimed in the modern era. We’ll look at how modern pianists manage to translate a double-harpsichord work onto the single-manual piano, how pre-modern audiences felt daunted by the thought of hearing the complete Goldbergs in recital, the bold changes to Bach’s original score made by some 19th century musicians, and the beginning of the Goldberg recording craze in the early 20th century. Finally, we turn toward the future and ask how our modern conceptions of the “ideal” Goldberg performance might continue to change. Several parts of this video feature newly published research on the reception history of the Goldbergs by Erinn E. Knyt found in her book “Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations Reimagined” (Oxford, 2024). Information on the origins and structure of Bach’s Goldberg Variations are mostly drawn from Christoph Wolff’s scholarship, including his 2020 book “Bach’s Musical Universe,” and his 1976 paper “Bach’s ‘Handexemplar’ of the Goldberg Variations: A New Source.” Thank you to Decca Classics for sponsoring this video! Buy me a coffee: (https://buymeacoffee.com/pianocurio) Get 10% off piano composer merch from Amadeus Apparel with discount code “PIANOCURIO”: (https://amadeusapparel.com/PIANOCURIO) (affiliate link – supports the channel)
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