Tianqi Du - Bach - Goldberg Variations (2022) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

For his first appearance under the naïve label, the Chinese pianist Tianqi Du majestically embraces a monument for keyboard, the Goldberg Variations. His pianistic interpretation of Bach’s masterpiece affirms the principle of metamorphosis, always reinventing but never altering, emphasising all the resources of the instrument. A compulsory piece for all keyboardists – and even other instrumentalists, if you count the many transcriptions they have undergone – the Goldberg Variations never sound the same. The voice rendered here by Tianqi Du – a young pianist taught and admired in his home country of China before studying with Meng-Chieh Liu at Boston’s New England Conservatory and now with Nicolas Hodges – is that of a dear, benevolent friend who always stood close by while he was growing up: "My encounter with the Goldberg Variations was like a musical compass that showed me the way", he confides. "Bach has been a friend, a mentor and a saviour in my hours of doubt and confusion".

Tianqi Du is particularly inspired in his interpretation of the famous aria, from the original one right through to its final da capo, following a path full of surprises which will not fail to move the listener. While the thirty variations are methodically punctuated by nine canons gradually rising higher and obeying the rules of an unerring counterpoint, they also allow for a sensitive and imaginative pianist like Tianqi Du to use all the resources of a romantic instrument and modern thinking: a very personal ornamentation, a contrasting touch, confident use of the pedal, suppleness in the tempi, lively highlighting of the other voices, slow movements that sing, and the final aria on the verge of silence. "This work", writes Tianqi Du, "is often compared to an imposing building or to a treasure".

TRACKLIST

1. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria
2. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 1. a 1 clavier
3. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 2. a 1 clavier
4. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 3. canone all’unisono a 1 clavier
5. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 4. a 1 clavier
6. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 5. a 1 ovvero 2 claviere
7. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 6. canone alla seconda a 1 clavier
8. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 7. a 1 ovvero 2 claviere, al tempo di giga
9. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 8. a 2 claviere
10. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 9. canone alla terza a 1 clavier
11. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 10. fughetta a 1 clavier
12. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 11. a 2 claviere
13. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 12. canone alla quarta a 1 clavier
14. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 13. a 2 claviere
15. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 14. a 2 claviere
16. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 15. canone alla quinta a 1 clavier
17. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 16. ouverture a 1 clavier
18. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 17. a 2 claviere
19. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 18. canone alla sesta a 1 clavier
20. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 19. a 1 clavier
21. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 20. a 2 claviere
22. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 21. canone alla settima a 1 clavier
23. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 22. alla breve a 1 clavier
24. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 23. a 2 claviere
25. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 24. canone all’ottava a 1 clavier
26. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 25. a 2 claviere
27. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 26. a 2 claviere
28. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 27. canone alla nona a 2 claviere
29. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 28. a 2 claviere
30. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 29. a 1 ovvero 2 claviere
31. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Variatio 30. quodlibet a 1 clavier
32. Tianqi Du - Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria da capo



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