Gramophone Magazine
May 2022
Editor's Choice

Klara Würtz (piano)

Bach’s Goldberg Variations have gained iconic status, its popularity reaches well beyond the boundaries of traditional classical music audiences. The Goldberg Variations BWV988 takes its name from a young pupil of Bach, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who was in the service of Count von Keyserlingk. The Count was a notoriously bad sleeper, and requested of Bach a series of pieces for Goldberg to play to him when he could not sleep; he then considered the work to be ‘his’, although it is widely referred to by the name of its performer. The variations are in groups of three, with the last in each group being a canon and the final variation weaving together two popular song melodies into a quodlibet. The variations range in character, and feature fughettas, a French overture, ornamental slow arias as well as virtuosic pieces for two manuals. The Goldberg Variations present a cosmos of human emotions, ranging from serenity, devotion, joy, wit and brilliance to deep sorrow and darkness. A monument for Humanity and one of the greatest creation man ever made. In the dark period of lockdown Klára Würtz found inspiration and solace in working on Bach’s Goldberg Variations. She studied at the Liszt Ferenc Academy in Budapest, imbibing the rich musical culture and knowledge of such teachers as György Kurtág, Ferenc Rados, and Zoltán Kocsis. She toured the world, playing in such famous venues as Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink, France (Roque d’Anthéron), Germany, Italy, Salzburger Festspiele (Mozart recital) and Japan.