World-renowned harpsichordist and teacher of Baroque music Arthur Haas will perform The Goldberg Variations at the Bach Virtuosi Festival on Friday, May 15, at the Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church. Tickets are on sale now.
“Without a doubt, it’s one of the greatest pieces of music ever written,” says Haas. “Every single emotion, everything you can imagine about music are in those thirty variations. The piece gives you so many incredible ideas about music.”
Arthur Haas grew up in a household filled with music. Haas’s Viennese father was a trained musician; every day, Haas’s family was practicing, listening to, or talking about music. Some of his earliest memories were of musicians performing chamber music at his home. His father taught him piano, highlighting the traditional music of 19th-century composers.
“I grew up playing a lot of Bach,” says Haas, who appreciated the challenges and opportunity for expression that Bach’s music presented.
In advance of his upcoming performances of The Goldberg Variations with the Bach Virtuosi Festival (BVF), the festival asked Haas to share more about his relationship to Bach’s music.
Do you recall the first time you were particularly moved by a Bach piece?
When I was in college I saw Ralph Kirkpatrick, one of the foremost harpsichordists of the 20th century, perform Bach’s Overture in the French Style. There were tears in my eyes listening to it. It was an immaculate performance, and the music was so beautiful. I had started taking harpsichord lessons, but that convinced me to stick with it and continue to focus on playing Baroque music and Bach in particular.
You’re playing The Goldberg Variations with the Bach Virtuosi Festival. What is your favorite part about performing this composition?
Without a doubt, it’s one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. Every single emotion, everything you can imagine about music is in those 30 variations. Every time I play them, I discover something new. It’s incredibly satisfying and rewarding.
I’ve been teaching them to students for years, but I’ve only performed them for the last seven years. It was because Lewis [Kaplan, BVF founder and director] asked me. Thanks to the Festival, I’ve gotten to know this piece and perform this piece. It’s humbling to be able to play this piece for people, and it’s the capstone of my career – truly a great privilege. It’s one of the most important things I’ve ever done.
I find it to be an amazing, global piece. It’s written for harpsichord but you can hear it on piano. I’ve also heard it on the harp, the classical guitar, and in chamber ensembles. Every interpretation is going to be different. The piece gives you so many incredible ideas about music!
Come experience Arthur Haas’s interpretation of The Goldberg Variations along with other incredible performances at the Bach Virtuosi Festival in New York, May 12-19.
