A testament to Robbins unceasing invention, The Goldberg Variations is a choreographic tour de force that pays homage to Bachs epic score by unifying the traditions of classical and modern movements in one monumental ballet.
Bachs so-called Goldberg variations was published in 1742 under the title Aria mit verschieden Veraenderungen. Veraenderungen is usually translated as variations, but it also means alterations or mutations.
This is the only work of Bachs in the structure of a theme and variations. However, it differs from most compositions of this nature in that the variations are not based on the melody, but on the harmonic implications of the accompnt of the theme, a sarabande that Bach wrote for his second wife.
Charles Rosen writes, It is the most open and public of Bachs keyboard works, the one that most absorbs and transforms the popular styles of his time. The Goldberg variations are, in ct, an encyclopedia: a survey of the world of secular music. There are canons, a fugue, a French overture, a siciliana, a quodlibet, accompanied solos, and a series of inventions and dance-like movements. The Goldberg variations is a social work; it was meant principally to delight, and it instructs only as it charms.
Johann Gottlieb Goldbergs name became attached to the work only because he happened to be the private harpsichordist to Count Keyserling, who commissioned the music. The Count, who was troubled with insomnia, asked Bach to write music he could listen to during his sleepless nights, and it was Goldberg, a pupil of Bachs, who played the variations for him.
Jerome Robbins, 1971
From notes for Mr. Rosens Columbia/Odyssey recording Johann Sebastian Bach: The Last Keyboard Works
All photography © Paul Kolnik unless otherwise indicated. The photographs on this website depict choreography copyrighted by the individual choreographers. Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. New York City Ballet and the block letter logo are registered trademarks of New York City Ballet, Inc.
