Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations

20 years after his acclaimed account of the Goldberg Variations for Decca, András Schiff documents Bach’s towering masterpiece again, this time in a live recording for ECM New Series.

As the New York Times said, “Mr Schiff is, in Bach, a phenomenon. He doesn’t so much perform it as emit, breathe it.” Made to address the changes that have taken place in his approach to Bach, (and also in response to numerous requests from fellow musicians and the public), Schiff’s new Goldberg recording is, from multiple perspectives, a major event. The fluency of the playing in this concert recording from Basel is quietly astonishing, the technical demands of the work transcended with uncanny gracefulness.

The old Decca recording, long regarded by music critics as one of the most distinguished Goldberg interpretations, was the work of an exceptional young musician who had already been playing the work for a decade. Indeed, even before his first public performance of the work, in Budapest in 1975, he had been “slowly working on it for four to five years.” Schiff received additional insight via his studies in London with George Malcolm, the great harpsichordist and expert on baroque performance practise. Although the Goldberg Variations were written for a two-manual harpsichord, “Mr Malcolm, a universal musician, always encouraged me to play Bach on the modern piano, with varied articulation, imaginative phrasing and minimal (if any) use of the sustaining pedal… The main question has to be, how do we play Bach’s music? His manuscripts give us very little information on certain aspects of interpretation: tempo, dynamics, phrasing, articulation, ornamentation. The performer was expected to fill in the gaps by following his musical knowledge and instinct. So, the pianist should not be a slave, but rather a re-creator. Bach’s text is sacred, but he gives us the liberty to make certain choices and decisions.”

On the structure of the work: “The strict observance of repeats is quite crucial in these Variations. When I was younger I tried to use all the resources available to achieve variety. These included transposing certain sections an octave up or down, something that could easily be done on the two-manual harpsichord with registration. So this was my homage to the harpsichord. It also emphasizes one aspect of my approach: the joy of playing, playfulness. Nevertheless twenty years later we may prefer subtler means.”

ECM recorded several performances of András Schiff playing the Goldberg Variations in the autumn of 2001, from which the pianist selected the Basel concert for release. Schiff feels the concert setting is optimal for the Goldberg:

“My view of the Goldberg Variations is largely helped by the live recording. It is a long journey and I believe in continuity. It’s not a fragmented sequence of 32 excerpts. The overall plan, the division of groups, rests, silences – they all depend on careful timing, which can only be achieved naturally in a live performance.”


One point in which this recording is clearly superior to its predecessor is the sound – attributable to Schiff’s ever more subtle touch and also to the instrument employed. András Schiff: “These days I always play a piano prepared by Maestro Angelo Fabbrini in Pescara, Italy. These instruments are perfectly voiced and tuned and possess a special ‘shining’ quality. I believe in the cantabile art of piano playing and this piano can sing. Twenty years ago I played the best available piano in London because I didn’t know anything better. There are, however, great differences between pianos, and technicians. Today I travel with my own piano and technician, Mr Rocco Cicchella, and I’m very happy.”

The CD booklet contains a “Guided Tour” of the Goldberg Variations, specially written by András Schiff for this release. At its conclusion he asks: “Isn't it understandable that every musician would want to play this wonderful work? Its deep humanity, spirituality, optimism and intellectual power speak to us directly in these 'distracted times'. This is one of those few journeys that can be repeated again and again.”

Also exclusive to this edition: a prologue, in acrostic form, by Indian writer Vikram Seth, well-known author of “An Equal Music”, “A Suitable Boy”, and “The Golden Gate”.