Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 - Vladimir Feltsman

Goldberg Variations LINER NOTES

I was initially awakened to this piece by Glenn Gould's first recording many years ago on Columbia, which I still like. I was 17 at the time and started working on it right away, although I didn't play it in public until seven or eight years later. The Goldberg Variations are very special to me; I've actually been studying them now on and off for nearly two decades. And since my arrival in the U.S. five years ago I've been deeply involved with them. I've played them all over Europe, including the Moscow Conservatory, where this recording was made. This is probably the most demanding piece l've played in concert. To prepare, I have to put myself in a very special mental and physical state. To me, performing the 30 variations is a process of bringing together light that is reflected in 30 different ways. The piece at the beginning is a vast ocean; by the end the ocean has receded to a single drop of living water. --Vladimir Feltsman