When harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg asked Bach to write   pieces for him to play to help a Saxon count get to sleep at night he   could hardly have realized that he was playing a key role in creating   music that would inspire audiences and musicians for centuries.

Not only are the Goldberg Variations among the most frequently  performed works  today, they also continue to inspire composers to write  new variations  on the famous themes. We’ll feature an incredible array  of these this  week on Relevant Tones.

Hosted by Seth Boustead

Dan Tepfer: Improvisation 1 & Variation 1

Uri Caine: The Introitus Variation

J.S. Bach: Aria fr. Goldberg Variations

Misha Zupko: Ghost Variation

Jennifer Higdon: Gilmore Variation

Derek Bermel: Kontraphunktus

Karlheinz Essl: Fantasia Chromatica fr. Gold.berg.werk for instruments and electronics

Gabriela Montero: Improvisation on the Aria fr. Bach’s Goldberg Variations

Uri Caine: Variation 9 (Canon at the Third)

Uri Caine: Variation 10 (Fughetta)

J.S. Bach: Aria fr. Goldberg Variations (excerpt)

Bright Sheng: Variation Fugato