"Goldberg" variations

«The Origin of its Common Name

The "Goldberg", the work's popular title, owes its existence to Forkel's famous account of the story first told in the beginning of the nineteenth-century. As far as we can trace, it was not the original title by the composer, at least at the time of publication. Nonetheless it is worth revisiting the facts, as Forkel received numerous pieces of first-hand, credible information from the eldest two sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. In commenting on the work, Forkel tells us the following story:
"For this model..., we are indebted to Count Keyserlingk, formerly Russian envoy to the court of the Elector of Saxony, who frequently resided in Leipzig, and brought with him Goldberg, who has been mentioned above, to have him instructed by Bach in music.

The Count was often sickly, and then had sleepless nightssometh. At these times Goldberg, who lived in the house with him, had to pass the night in an adjoining room to play ing to him when he could not sleep. The Count once said to Bach that he should like to have some clavier pieces for his Goldberg, which should be of such a soft and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights. Bach thought he could best fulfil this wish by variations, which, on account of the constant sameness of the fundamental harmony, he had hitherto considered as an ungrateful task.

But as at this time all his works were models of art, these variations also became such under his hand. This is, indeed, the only model of the kind that he has left us. The Count thereafter called them nothing but his variations. He was never weary of hearing them; and for a long time, when the sleepless nights came, he used to say: "Dear Goldberg, do play me one of my variations." Bach was, perhaps, never so well rewarded for any work as for this: the Count made him a present of a golden goblet, filled with a hundred Louis d'ors. But their worth as a work of art would not have been paid if the present had been a thousand times as great."

There is much scepticism expressed about this famous episode (...) »

continuação: http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/~tomita/essay/cu4.html