Goldberg-Variationen

Item Number: DB.36-00108-PA

ISBN 979-0-012-20216-5.

Goldberg-Variations, BWV 988 is a work for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of one aria and thirty riations. First published in 1741, it is also the fourth in his Klavier-ubung series. Goldberg Variations is often referred to as one of the most important work in the genre of variation music. The title was named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg who first premiered the work at a concert.

There is a well known background story to this musical work. The story goes that the Russian ambassador to the electoral court of Saxony, Count Hermann Carl Kaiserling suffered from insomnia and asked Bach to compose this piece so that Goldberg could play it for him. However, there is still a debate as to whether this story is indeed true. One of the reasons being that Goldberg was then 12 or 13 years old - way too young to be kept in mind as a performer for such a grand piece. This argument claims that Bach probably decided to compose the work on his own, not by commission.