Bach / Voltchok - Goldberg Variations BWV 988 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Stepan Simonian writes InchWhy Bach? Why Goldberg? Johann Sebastian Bach was a true InchessenceInch of music a composer who brought literally everything together in his output, bridging all periods from Gregorian chant almost all the way to Viennese Classicism. In his seven early keyboard toccatas we encounter a young man gifted with genius, enriched by a multitude of musical influences, and still tempted to adapt to the musical developments of his day... Musical cycles such as The Well-Tempered Clavier, The Musical Offering, or The Art of Fugue constitute the ne plus ultra in terms of Bach's mastery of instrumental polyphony. The Goldberg Variations, conversely, present a compendium of his skill in composing variations. Since this variation cycle is written for a two-manual harpsichord, we can assume that Bach himself regarded it as an important milestone in his art as a performer on that instrument. Whether this supposition be true or not, there is no doubt that the Goldberg Variations represent one of the most outstanding works in the entire musical repertoire... Each time I perform, hear, or study these variations, I uncover new dimensions. They are brimming with the finest nuances, implications, and emotionally charged associations. The familiar path to that familiar home remains the same path, but the way I walk down it becomes thoroughly different every time.Inch

These Goldberg Variations present new perspectives on a well-known score. Danish composer Peter Navarro-Alonso's composition is a note-by-note reinvention of the original Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach. Thus Alpha's innovative performance adds no additional notes in comparison to the original. It is merely through the very creative and extreme orchestration that the new composition gains it's own life. InchThe combination of recorder, saxophone and percussion is clearly not very well suited to a baroque-style reorchestration,Inch claims Peter Navarro-Alonso, responsible for this arrangement tailor made for the members of Alpha. InchBut the richness in that combination lies in it's enormous diversity in timbre and dynamics.Inch Alpha is a unique Danish ensemble, founded by Bolette Roed, Peter Navarro-Alonso, and David Hildebrandt, who all graduated from the soloist class at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen. As early as 2003, they were the first to explore this instrument combination, attracted by it's many possibilities. Alpha was an immediate success, and have been prize-winners at contests and festivals all over Europe.

The Goldberg Variations' alternation of connection and freedom, fantasy and strict form, was able to lead in a hitherto unknown way to a higher unity, raising them to the rank of a real compendium of the art of variation, strongly influencing Beethoven, Brahms and Reger. Tzimon Barto's international breakthrough came in the mid-1980s, when he appeared at the Vienna Musikverein and the Salzburg Festival at the invitation of Herbert von Karajan. Tzimon Barto has since performed with nearly every major international orchestra.... a pianist who particularly cares about poetry. (Piano News) Album Tracks 1. Aria 2. Variatio 1 3. Variatio 2 4. Variatio 3 Canone All'unisono 5. Variatio 4 6. Variatio 5 7. Variatio 6 Canone Alla Seconda 8. Variatio 7 9. Variatio 8 10. Variatio 9 Canone Alla Terza 11. Variatio 10 Fugetta 12. Variatio 11 13. Variatio 12 Canone Alla Quarta 14. Variatio 13 15. Variatio 14 16. Variatio 15 Canone Alla Quinta 17. Variatio 16 Ouverture 18. Variatio 17 19. Variatio 18 Canone Alla Sexta 20. Variatio 19 21. Variatio 20 22. Variatio 21 Canone Alla Settima 23. Variatio 22 Alla Breve 24. Variatio 23 25. Variatio 24 Canone All'ottava 26. Variatio 25 27. Variatio 26 28. Variatio 27 Canone Alla Nona 29. Variatio 28 30. Variatio 29 31. Variatio 30 Quodlibet 32. Aria 33. Nun Komm, Der Heiden Heiland, BWV659