Christian Altenburger violin
Thomas Selditz viola
Peter Hudler violoncello

Programme

Johann Sebastian Bach

Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (version for string trio by Dmitry Stkovetsky)

Hardly any other work in music history combines virtuosity, depth and elegance as masterfully as Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations. Originally published as "Clavier-Übung", they are far more than a technical challenge - they are a journey through musical worlds full of sophistication, emotion and beauty.
According to Johann Nikolaus Forkel, Bach's first biographer, the Goldberg Variations are "due to the instigation of the former Russian envoy to the Chursächs. Court, Count Kaiserling." The count was ill a lot and, according to Forkel, often had sleepless nights. Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, the Count's private musician, "who lived with him in his house, had to spend the night in an adjoining room at such times in order to play something for him during his sleeplessness. The count once said to Bach that he would like to have some piano pieces for his Goldberg that were so gentle and somewhat cheerful in character that they could cheer him up a little on his sleepless nights."
This "Aria with thirty variations", composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for a harpsichord with two manuals, is not only a milestone in keyboard literature, but also represents a highlight of polyphonic composition and the Baroque art of variation. Bach created a kaleidoscope of dance-like, meditative and virtuoso movements that continue to fascinate musicians and listeners alike to this day. As a truly monumental cycle in 30 parts, the Goldberg Variations are the most important "piano variations" before Beethoven's Diabelli Variations.
Dmitry Sitkovetsky's arrangement for string trio emphasises the contrapuntal interweaving of the variations particularly well. It allows the individual voices to emerge in an extraordinarily vivid way and the violin, viola and cello together lend the work chamber-musical intimacy and enchanting lyrical beauty. An absolute musical delight!

Organised by Cello Expansion Kulturverein. Tickets can be purchased in advance and at the box office at the following prices: € 28-58,- (regular), € 22-47,- (pensioners) & € 12-27,- (students).