30 Bach: The Goldberg Variations Podcast

“30 Bach” explores one of the most profound pieces of music ever written: J.S. Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.” Although the piece is over 280 years old, it continues to capture the imaginations of musicians and listeners alike. Through interviews with leading musicians as well as with devoted listeners, the podcast explores why the work is so meaningful to so many and explores the diverse and profound ways that listeners relate to the piece.

The Complete 30 Bach Goldbergs 05/21/2021

The Complete 30 Bach Goldbergs We've heard different performers play different parts of the Goldbergs. Now, we're putting them together. This is the complete 30 Bach version of the Goldberg, through 15 separate performances. It's Bach's Goldberg Variations, with some twists and turns. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/19193336

Aria: "He was superman" 05/21/2021

Aria: "He was superman" 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. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/19071179

Lennart Felix: "When I come back here, I always feel at home" 05/14/2021

Lennart Felix: "When I come back here, I always feel at home" In the last variation of the Goldbergs, Bach returns home, to a tradition of his family: creating mashups. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/19070960

Hie-Yon Choi: "So much fun" 04/30/2021

Hie-Yon Choi: "So much fun" 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.‍ /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18901544

Jeremy Denk: "The farthest possible place" 04/23/2021

Jeremy Denk: "The farthest possible place" 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. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18822398

Kevin Sun: "We need joy" 04/16/2021

Kevin Sun: "We need joy" 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. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18723791

Rachel Breen: "My musical education was painful" 04/09/2021

Rachel Breen: "My musical education was painful" 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 music as a student -- the practice, the errors, the experimentation -- and what Bach was like as a teacher himself. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18612866

"Bach would have been a good programmer, a good engineer" 04/02/2021

"Bach would have been a good programmer, a good engineer" Variations 16, 17, 18. Bach 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. Kocienda and Ladeur discuss parallels between music and design, and how constraints can actually enhance creativity. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18569705

Jeff Scott: "This is just an absolute party" 03/26/2021

Jeff Scott: "This is just an absolute party" Who said Bach's music was the last word? This episode features an interview with Jeff Scott, hornist and composer, about his work “Passion for Bach and Coltrane,” which combines poetry with reimagined music from two of the greats: J.S. Bach and John Coltrane. Get ready for an Afro-Cuban version of Variation 13. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18466943

Angela Hewitt: "Lifted up into a different world" 03/19/2021

Angela Hewitt: "Lifted up into a different world" 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. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18311555

Ben Laude: "I got obsessed with how he was playing it" 03/12/2021

Ben Laude: "I got obsessed with how he was playing it" Variations 10, 11, 12. It's impossible to tell the story of the Goldberg Variations without mentioning Glenn Gould. Gould's two recordings of the variations forever changed the place of the Goldbergs in our culture. In this episode, we explore Gould's legacy through the eyes of Ben Laude, a concert pianist and pedagogue who relied on Gould in a period of musical crisis. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18288251

Kristian Nyquist: The Real Sound of the Goldbergs 03/05/2021

Kristian Nyquist: The Real Sound of the Goldbergs While the Goldbergs are most often heard today on the piano, the piece was written for the double-manual harpsichord. There are advantages to playing the piece on harpsichord, and tricks a harpsichordist can pull to create unusual effects. Harpsichordists Kristian Nyquist and Mahan Esfahani discuss. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18177506

Dan Tepfer: "Prepare to be unprepared" 02/26/2021

Dan Tepfer: "Prepare to be unprepared" Variations 7, 8, and 9. Bach was a legendary improviser who could blow the socks off most jazz musicians today. This episode features a discussion with Dan Tepfer, a classically-trained jazz pianist and Bach lover who free improvises over the structure of the Goldberg Variations. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/18071447

Simone Dinnerstein: "It was like an epiphany" 02/19/2021

Simone Dinnerstein: "It was like an epiphany" Variations 4, 5, and 6. What was Bach's musical development like? How did he grow as a young musician, and how has his music helped other artists grow? For pianist Simone Dinnerstein, the Goldbergs are a constant source of artistic growth, whether as a soloist, or a collaborator. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/17983367

Christopher Hinterhuber: "Music which was made for dancing" 02/12/2021

Christopher Hinterhuber: "Music which was made for dancing" Variations 1, 2, and 3. Our first stop is in Vienna, Austria with Professor Christopher Hinterhuber, a celebrated pianist for whom the Goldberg Variations has been a consistent source of inspiration. Hinterhuber connects variations 1, 2, and 3 to musical traditions such as the polonaise, and shows how Bach's music exists in relation to his predecessors. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/17872277

"It's perhaps the music that travels best" 02/12/2021

"It's perhaps the music that travels best" We begin where the piece begins: the "aria" on which the rest of the piece is based. This episode introduces the project, including why I embarked on this project, and how the piece inspires people today. Conversation with architect and nanoscientist who listen to the piece every day. Other guests include Simone Dinnerstein, Angela Hewitt, Jeff Scott, and Dan Tepfer. /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/17856464

Teaser 01/21/2021

Teaser What do a nanoscientist, an architect, a Brazilian guitarist, and Silence of the Lambs all have in common? One inspiring piece of music: J.S. Bach's "Goldberg Variations". /episode/index/show/thirtybach/id/17640449

30 Bach: The Goldberg Variations Podcast

TOPICS