Variazioni Goldberg – September 7th at 5 pm – Grandezze & meraviglie 2019

“Collection for keyboard instruments, which consists of an aria with different variations for harpsichord with two manuals”, famous in our days with the title of Goldberg Variations. This name is not given by the composer, but derives from an anecdote told by Nikolaus Forkel, Bach’s first biographer, in 1802. In this story, the origin of the name is traced back to the harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, a brilliant pupil of Bach, who was at the service of Count Hermann Carl von Keyserling, who, suffering from insomnia, asked Bach to compose for him a series of variations to brighten up his sleepless nights.