Saturday, November 28, 2009

Bach's Goldberg Variations Var 1

It has been more than a month since I released my last recording. Life has been busy with non-piano activities and so I've had almost no time over the last couple of months to practice the pieces that I am currently working on. I decided that to release something is better than nothing, so I dug up a recording of Bach's first variation in the set titled Goldberg Variations. The recording is a bit embarrassing, as it contains some obvious mistakes and some less-than-desirable musical "effects". One day I hope to replace it with a much better recording, but until then, this will have to do.

For those of you who are not familiar with this work, it is a musical masterpiece that begins and ends with a simple and beautiful Aria. The inner pages are then filled with variations on the theme from the Aria using the rules of counterpoint that Bach so strictly followed. Bach explored many styles and types of music as he developed each variation and proved, yet again, that he truly was the greatest musical genius of his day and perhaps in the history of known music.

One day I hope to take the time to study all of the variations so that I can make a complete recording of this great masterpiece. To listen to my recording of the first variation you can visit this page of my website, subscribe to my free iTunes podcast, or use the embedded media player found below.