Conductors
& Performers
Piano
program
Goldberg Variations
performances
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Event Description
Legend goes that J.S. Bach wrote his iconic Goldberg Variations to help ward off Count Hermann Karl von Keyserling’s chronic insomnia. Plagued by sleepless nights, von Keyserling desired gentle melodies to help lull him to sleep, music that would be played by his resident harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. The legend is impressive less for its accuracy than for its staying power: In reality, Bach hadn’t even met von Keyserling when he began writing this beautiful and essential work. Nevertheless, the name stuck. The Goldbergs are one of music’s most fundamental pieces, and one of the most important works ever written for keyboard. Its premise is simple: Each variation is based on the same bass line, one that was borrowed from his Baroque contemporary, Handel. The result? A timeless tour de force of creative genius. Living legend Lang Lang brings his unique and extraordinary flair to a true masterpiece in a solo piano performance at Davies Symphony Hall.
The San Francisco Symphony does not appear in this performance
