Australian Chamber Orchestra To Perform Goldberg Variations For The First Time

The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) will perform one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, JS Bach's Goldberg Variations, for the very first time in concert halls across Australia from 2-16 August.

Under the direction of ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, the ACO will perform the Australian premiere of an arrangement of the Goldberg Variations by Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie, who has orchestrated Bach's iconic keyboard work for string ensemble and keyboard continuo with the purpose of "creating something new from something old, exactly as a Baroque musician would have done."

Tognetti describes the Goldberg Variations as being extremely well-suited to a string orchestral setting.

"The main thing about JS Bach's music is that you have clarity of line and that you can hear different voices intertwining. In this way, a string orchestral setting serves Bach perfectly well as you can draw these lines out with multiple instruments."

Legend has it that Bach composed the Goldberg Variations at the request of a friend, Count Kaiserling, who suffered from frequent bouts of insomnia. The Count would have his private harpsichordist, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, perform the Variations during his sleepless nights as a means of keeping his mind occupied.

"The Goldberg Variations were published during Bach's lifetime, unlike many of his other works," said Tognetti. "However, following Bach's death, the work went into a period of relative obscurity and it wasn't until the very end of the 19th century that people started to play it again. Then that classic 1955 recording that Glenn Gould made was released, which changed everything; suddenly the Goldbergs were elevated from niche music only played by Bach specialists, to masterwork status."

Much has been written on the obsessive hold that the Goldberg Variations often cast over performers and listeners alike, who become enamoured with Bach's ability to veil music that is fiendishly complex behind a deceptively simple melodic line. The Goldbergs are structured symmetrically, opening with an Aria that introduces an eight-note ground bass line. This bass line is explored over 30 variations, before the opening Aria returns to conclude the work.

The ACO will open these concerts with JS Bach's Canons on a Goldberg Ground, presented in one of Tognetti's signature arrangements. The concerts will also feature Thomas Adès' Nightfalls from The Four Quarters, marking the ACO's first performance of the British composer's music.

Australian keyboardist Erin Helyard will join the ACO onstage for these performances. In addition, the ACO will present Helyard in recital performing the original solo keyboard version of the Goldbergs, in two special free events for ACO subscribers.