In 1741, at the height of his creativity, Bach published on of his pioneering works under the modest title “Keyboard exercise comprising an aria with diverse variations for harpsichord with two manuals.” The title “Goldberg Variations” has attached itself to the work thanks to an unverifiable anecdote by Bach’s first biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel. This story has often led people to the misapprehension that the phenomenal work was conceived to help Count Keyserlingk drop off to sleep. The Goldberg Variations have gained monolithic prominence as the only work of Bach’s oeuvre in this genre. The challenge of composing a piece of considerable length (45-90 minutes depending on how frequently the repeats are played) on top of a single bass line has been superbly met here. It is astonishing how the continuous G major, which is interspersed with just three G minor variations, never becomes the slightest bit tedious for the listener.
