What was originally written for the harpsichord has been reimagined for strings by Canadian conductor Bernard Ladabie and will have its Australian debut this August.
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The Australian Chamber Orchestra will perform Goldberg Variations – a near 277-year-old work by Johann Sebastian Bach – at Wollongong Town Hall on August 16.
“You have clarity of line and that you can hear different voices intertwining,” said ACO artistic director Richard Tognetti. “In this way, a string orchestral setting serves Bach perfectly well as you can draw these lines out with multiple instruments.”
Legend has it Bach composed the works 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 ACO will open these concerts with JS Bach’s Canons on a Goldberg Ground. The concerts will also feature Thomas Adès’ Nightfalls from The Four Quarters, marking the ACO’s first performance of the British composer’s music.
The ACO will perform at Wollongong Town Hall, August 16, 7:30pm. Tickets via www.aco.com.au
