30 Bach: The Goldberg Variations Podcast

At last, we bring it all together with the return of the aria. It's the same place we began, and yet it feels different, colored by the journey. A journey through many different worlds, different places, different people's lives. Lowry Yankwich plays the final aria.

Variation 30. In the last variation of the Goldbergs, Bach returns home, to a tradition of his family: creating mashups.  Interview with and performance by German pianist Lennart Felix, with additional commentary by Kristian Nyquist, Angela Hewitt, Jeremy Denk, and Philip Kennicott. Interview recorded October 24, 2017. Musical recording credits available at: https://open.spotify.com/show/0g4E7bf99tc5L6BGjkY1HG?si=xidMStfoTJWvME8MUYGK_g

Variations 26, 27, 28, and 29. These variations vibrate with joy, energy, excitement. We explore the times when Bach could let loose and lose himself in play within his music.‍ First interview conducted on November 10, 2017, over Skype. Second interview, and recording of performance conducted on August 6, 2018. Musical recording credits available at https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/hie-yon-choi-so-much-fun

If the Goldbergs are a celebration of life, variation 25 is a reckoning with mortality, revealing pain but also providing comfort. In this episode, we hear from many different people, including pianist Jeremy Denk, Washington Post critic Philip Kennicott, scholar Eric Motley, pianist William Heiles, and dancer Melissa Toogood. Photo credit: Michael Wilson Musical recording credits available at https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/far-from-home

Variations 22, 23, 24. Interview with Kevin Sun, medical student and concert pianist. We discuss sources of joy in Bach’s life, and his ability to conjure joy, warmth, and humor in his music as an antidote to the tragedy that follows. Musical recording credits available at https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/kevin-sun-we-need-release-we-need-joy

Variations 19, 20, and 21. Pianist Rachel Breen didn't have an ordinary classical music education; guided by her father, not himself a musician, Breen began with a diet exclusively of Bach. This episode delves into what it's like to learn Bach's music as a student -- the practice, the errors, the experimentation -- and what Bach was like as a teacher himself. Musical recording credits available at https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/rachel-breen-my-musical-education-was-painful

Variations 16, 17, 18. Bach was a consummate craftsmen -- he knew not just how to write music, but how to build it. In this Interview, we speak with pianist Jeffrey LaDeur and his student, Ken Kocienda. Kocienda was lead software engineer behind the Apple iPhone and developed a strong affinity for the Goldbergs. Kocienda and Ladeur discuss parallels between music and design, and how constraints can actually enhance creativity. Interviews recorded in San Jose, California on January 2, 2018 and  in San Francisco, California on July 2, 2019. Photo credits: Jiyang Chen (LaDeur) Musical recording credits available at https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/bach-would-have-been-a-good-programmer

Who said Bach's music was the last word? Photo credit: Tanya Rosen-Jones

Variations 13, 14, and 15. Bach's faith was central to his music-making. This episode explores the spirituality of Bach's music with Angela Hewitt, internationally-renowned interpreter of Bach, who has performed all of Bach’s keyboard works across the world. Interviews recorded April 30, 2019 and February 28, 2020. Photo credit: Maiwolf. Musical recording credits available at: https://www.thirtybach.com/podcast-episodes/angela-hewitt-lifted-up-into-a-different-world

Variations 10, 11, 12. It's impossible to tell the story of the Goldberg Variations without mentioning Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. Gould's two recordings of the variations, one in 1955, the other in 1981, forever changed the place of the Goldbergs in our culture. In this episode, we explore Gould's legacy -- and the idea of musical idols -- through the eyes of Ben Laude, a concert pianist and pedagogue who relied on Gould in a period of musical crisis. Photo credit: Rebecca Blair.