A set of thirty variations for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach, published in 1741 and built on the bass line and harmonic structure of an opening aria. Prized for the technical and formal ingenuity of its variations, it remains one of the most performed and recorded keyboard works in the classical repertoire.
Facts
Medium
Medium (category) Year Created Connections
Associated With
The Goldberg Variations make extensive contrapuntal use of canon and fugue.
Created By
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
In Form
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
In Genre
In Movement
Source The New Grove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansStanley Sadie, editor (successive editions)
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Goldberg Variations
Lead section
The Goldberg Variations (German: Goldberg-Variationen), BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of thirty variations.
lead paragraph
The Goldberg Variations (German: Goldberg-Variationen), BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of thirty variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Joha
In Group: Bach Keyboard Works, Lead
The Goldberg Variations (German: Goldberg-Variationen), BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of thirty variations.
View the Source2. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Stanley Sadie, editor (successive editions), Oxford University Press
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