Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations are part of the brilliant composer’s late life plans, namely, a series of piano exercise collections called Clavier Übungen, created between 1726 and 1741, the Goldberg Variations being the fourth collection. The title ‘Übung’ (exercise) does not mean that this music is easy to play. This work is extremely complex and multi-layered – Bach showed a wide range of styles and genres in which contemporary music for a keyboard instrument could be presented. It was concluded at the time that it was written for the refreshment of the spirits of music connoisseurs.

The Goldberg Variations have been recorded by many world-renowned interpreters. In an interview with Bavarian Radio, Carpenter said that it is a kind of cabinet of curiosities where emotion and mathematical structures are connected, pushing the boundaries of music. At the same time, he believes that they also possess a certain simplicity and qualities that allow them to be perceived and enjoyed even without substantial knowledge of artistic and structural nuances.

This is a real test for a soloist. On the one hand, it allows to fulfill a twenty-first-century listener’s expectation of each concert pianist and organist being a hyper-virtuoso, but, on the other hand, it does not reduce the performer to their technical skill alone. The requirements of this work are intellectual as well. We are looking forward to Cameron Carpenter’s interpretation of this exciting music. The first part of the concert will feature Johann Sebastian Bach’s preludes and fugues, an elegant trio sonata, and the composer’s famous chorale prelude ‘Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland’.

Cameron Carpenter is the first organist in the history of classical music whose album has been nominated for a Grammy. His career of an innovator has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the 2012 Leonard Bernstein Award, the ECHO Klassik, and the Opus Klassik.

Carpenter has performed in such notable venues as Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House and the Berlin Philharmonic, played with the world’s best orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, and Dallas, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and many more.

Among his recent and upcoming solo concerts are performances at the Lucerne Festival, the Kölner Philharmonie, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, a debut at the Cité de la Musique in Paris and residence at the Konzerthaus Berlin.

Artists:
Cameron Carpenter – organ