Johann Sebastian Bach
The Goldberg Variations are considered the pinnacle of Baroque variation art and impress with their meticulously planned structure.[1][3] With this work, Johann Sebastian Bach created a musical universe based on a characteristic bass line, over which rises an elaborately ornamented melody.[2][3] The 30 variations are presented in an architectural order: they are divided into ten groups of three variations each, with every third variation being a canon, and the canons increasing in pitch from the unison to the ninth.[3] Within each group of three, every variation begins with a genre piece, followed by a technical étude, before culminating in a canon.[3] The work unfolds a range from lighthearted, dance-like movements to meditative, serious moments, including fugal and imitative passages as well as virtuosic pieces.[3] Variation No. 25 is particularly striking, distinguished by its emotional depth, while the concluding quodlibet, with its interwoven folk song quotations, provides a surprisingly humorous ending.[2][3] The return to the opening aria at the end lends the cycle a poetic and transfigured frame, making the entire work appear as a self-contained cosmos.[3]
[3]