Goldberg Variations
Sacramento Baroque Soloists
March 14 & 15, 2026
St. Paul's Episcopal and The Table UMC

Program Notes

J.S. Bach (1685-1750) – Goldberg Variations

Little of Bach’s work was published in his lifetime. But the six harpsichord Partitas, the Italian Concerto, the French Overture, a German Organ Mass and the Aria with Variations were published by a mature Bach as his Clavier-Übung. These works are the pinnacle of solo keyboard and organ repertoire from that time (1731-1741).

The harpsichord variations were written for Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, an exceptionally talented student, possibly to be played to help Goldberg’s employer Count Keyserling to sleep at night. Hence their later attribution as the Goldberg Variations. Many arrangers have tried their hand at reworking these variations for different groupings of instruments, notably Dimitri Sitkovetsky in the 1980’s. 

While Sitkovetsky’s smaller first version is readily available, the later orchestral version is not. So I started preparing my own edition, thinking that I would use Sitkovetsky’s as a basis; the need for some rework was clear from the outset. There were many interpretations in Sitkovetsky’s working that we would certainly want to change, given our style as an ensemble. Sitkovetsky was rigorous in not changing anything of Bach unless it was absolutely necessary, and it is beautifully done. But on every page I could see a possibility for something different. Sitkovetsky intended his orchestration for a robust modern ensemble without specialized knowledge. So many of the ornaments that exist as simple signs in Bach’s manuscript are fully worked out. Specialist players prefer to see these as notated by Bach, allowing more freedom in the execution. So even when I follow what Sitkovetsky did, there are actually fewer notes on the page!

Much of Bach’s writing is in two or three parts. Even when Bach only shows two parts on the page, it is clear that more parts are implied, and are provided by the ear, as the envelope of a part spans a wide range. Of course, Sitkovetsky had noticed this too, and what he already did was always beautifully executed. But I saw places where one could go further. If you watch a harpsichordist or pianist play the piece, it is clearly a visual spectacle, and I wanted to expand this concept to an equivalent spectacle for the string group. Bach himself provides examples of this, one of the most engaging being the first movement of the third Brandenburg Concerto. Also, the bass line can split between the cello and the double bass, often with the double bass marking out a simpler structure. Bach was very creative with his bass lines – it is not uncommon for him to split it three ways between harpsichord, cello and bass. Again, Sitkovetsky also did this, but I thought more was possible.

So what started out as simply a simple edit of Sitkovetsky’s orchestration ended up with enough of my own ideas that I can claim at least some variations as original orchestrations.

A few years ago, I heard a young and very inspiring recording that changed my whole view of the piece. I had always thought of it as a piece for mature old age, when I had the time without distraction to work on it in detail. But I now think it is intended for a young player with the technique of a lion. Also, there are humorous elements, which is often the case in even Bach’s most serious compositions. So if you find yourself smiling at the antics of the performers in rendering my version, don’t think that those devices are accidental!

-Jonathan Salzedo, arranger