Bach, J S:
- Goldberg Variations, BWV988
Performed by Yuan Sheng (piano)
Any pianist who decides to perform the Goldberg Variations by Bach is in for a tough time. Inevitably the listener is likely to know the amazing 1950’s interpretation by the late Glenn Gould, and as such, comparisons will likely be made. What’s more, artists like Andras Schiff, and Simone Dinnerstein have recorded wonderful more recent interpretations, as well.
Yuan Sheng studied in Bejing, and through a scholarship entered the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Solomon Mikowsky and later with Bach specialist, Rosalyn Tureck. His interpretation of Bach’s famous ‘Goldberg Variations’ is genuinely personal, but never artificial or self conscious.
Mr. Sheng doesn’t use the piano as a ‘pianistic’ instrument, but simply as a means to express the message of this music, a human message of beauty, joy and sorrow.
International Piano Magazine considers Yuan Sheng “China’s premier Bach interpreter”; the New York Times describes his Bach playing as “a model of clarity, balance and proportion”.
Here is Yuan Sheng performing Bach: Goldberg Variations at the 2011 International Keyboard Institute & Festival.
And next, Yuan Sheng performs the English Suite No. 3 in G minor, BWV 808 by Bach at the International Keyboard Institute & Festival 2007.
Tags: Yuan Sheng, Bach, Goldberg Variations