Goldberg Variations

Linda Bärlund violin
Jarita Ng viola
Gabriel Esteban cello

Johann Sebastian Bach
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
(transcription for string trio by Dmitry Sitkovetsky)

A blatant example of extremely learned music that is understandable to all (one theme and thirty variations), the Goldberg Variations were composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1741 and played, according to legend, to lull a nobleman to sleep by a very young harpsichord prodigy, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, whose name has gone down in history forever. Although the anecdote is doubtful given the age of the young performer (14 years old), the work enjoyed immense success later and was adapted for all sorts of instrumental combinations. It was in 1984 that the violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky made a very skillful and delicate transcription of the Goldbergs for him (and for his friends Gérard Caussé on viola and Mischa Maïsky on cello), perfectly respecting the complexity of the counterpoint of the original version.