Estimated duration

2 h, incl. intermission

Organizer

Radion sinfoniaorkesteri

Sir Andras Schiff, piano

J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations

Legend has it that Bach’s Goldberg’s Variations were commissioned by a certain Count Kaiserling to be performed by his young protégé Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. The Count suffered from insomnia, and wanted some cheerful, soothing music to see him through his sleep-deprived hours. The monumental set of variations is one of the cornerstones of keyboard literature. Said one critic on hearing it played by András Schiff: “He doesn’t so much perform it as breathe it.”