He is due to perform JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations at the Proms, but is András Schiff playing the wrong instrument in the wrong hall to the wrong audience? Here he argues against his most infernal critic

The devil’s advocate: On 22 August you will be performing JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. Have you lost your wits?

András Schiff: No, I certainly haven’t. The Albert Hall is a magnificent auditorium, very large but full of character, history and tradition. The atmosphere at the Proms is absolutely unique, thanks to the quality and concentration of the audience.

TDA: But really, wouldn’t it be better to use a smaller, more intimate venue such as the Wigmore Hall?

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AS: No one loves the Wigmore more than I do, and I’ve played this work there several times. However, this is an extraordinary composition that can work equally well in a huge space. Initially it may sound small and distant but the listeners’ ears will gradually become attuned to it. One of my great musical experiences was a recital by Andrés Segovia at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. At the beginning, the public was so noisy it sounded like Grand Central Station during rush hour. After a few seconds, though, you could have heard a pin drop: he tamed them in the way that Tamino entrances the beasts in The Magic Flute.

TDA: That’s all very nice, but this is not a guitar recital. You will be using a modern piano, which is the wrong instrument for Bach, and for this work in particular.

AS: You are absolutely right. Bach states it clearly on the title page of the first edition (alas the manuscript has not survived): Aria with 30 variations for a harpsichord with two keyboards. Purists should only listen to it on that instrument. And not at the Albert Hall.

According to Johann Nikolas Forkel’s biography (1802), Bach had written this work for Count Keyserling, formerly Russian ambassador to Saxony. The count was suffering from insomnia and on sleepless nights would summon his court harpsichordist, Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, a pupil of JS Bach, to “play me one of my variations” to soothe his agony.

Historically speaking, then, the ideal venue for this piece is a drawing room, with one player and one listener.

TDA: Your arguments fail to convince me. You are using the wrong instrument in the wrong venue. Aren’t you playing a transcription of the original work?

AS: No, absolutely not. You have to be true to the musical score. I’m not changing a single note. The main difference is in the timbre and in the dynamics. Also, the modern piano has only the one keyboard, so you need intelligent fingering in order to stop your hands from colliding.

There are countless transcriptions of this piece – each worse than the next – for string trio, string orchestra, brass quintet, etc. It is understandable that all instrumentalists would like to play this unique masterpiece, but that doesn’t give them the licence to change Bach’s typically keyboard-inspired writing to suit the requirements of their own instruments. This is not an ensemble piece, it is for a single instrument, and for one player alone. That fact is fundamental.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Schiff performs one of the Goldberg Variations

TDA: Are you going to use the sustaining pedal?

AS: One of my teachers was George Malcolm. He was a marvellous musician and a great harpsichordist. He told me: “You don’t have to play this music on the harpsichord, do it on the piano but do it well!” He taught me to achieve clear articulation, part-playing and legato with the hands alone, and without using the feet. In recent years, I have set out to prove that I could play Bach without touching the pedal, and it is possible. After all, the sustaining pedal was not available to Bach on any of his instruments. On the modern piano it is a great asset, but it can do irreparable damage when used indiscriminately. Today I feel confident about adding a discreet amount of pedal – it doesn’t matter, as long as it all sounds good.

TDA: Are you going to play all the repeats?

AS: Yes.

TDA: Why? It’s going to be terribly long and boring.

AS: I beg to differ. Bach has specifically asked for the repeats, and this is a must. It is not a matter of choice. The structure is symmetrical, the Aria is in two halves, both 16 bars long, and each half is to be repeated. All the variations follow this pattern. The music is of such complexity that a second hearing is required; it gives the listener a second opportunity to hear the material again, and the player another chance to correct certain shortcomings. In tennis terms this is our “second service”.

Needless to say, a repeat should never be the same as the first time, it should be varied by means of dynamics, phrasing, articulation and imaginative ornamentation.

Claudio Arrau said that the greatest danger for a performer is to want to be interesting and original. We should never be afraid to be “boring”.

What’s boring to you might be interesting to others.

TDA: Will you play from memory?

AS: Yes.

TDA: Showing off?

AS: No. A good memory is a God-given gift, not a merit. However, it’s not something to be ashamed of. It is not exactly a matter of choice. When I play a recital or a piano concerto, it is essential for me to get rid of the score, so that I can communicate the composer’s ideas to the listeners. Some people feel better with the music in front of them; I don’t. Playing from memory allows me to close my eyes and use my ears: it completely liberates me.

TDA: Can you tell me more about the structure and the character of the Goldberg Variations?

AS: I didn’t expect such a relevant and positive question from you, Sir. With great pleasure. First of all, the theme. In the Aria we must follow the bass line, that is the foundation of the whole structure, all the variations are based on it. Second, there is the magic number of three. There are 30 variations, 10 groups of three. Each group contains a brilliant virtuoso piece, a gentle character piece and a strictly polyphonic canon. The canons are presented in a sequence of increasing intervals, starting with a canon in unison and ending in a canon in ninths. In place of a canon at the tenth (Variation 30) Bach gives us a quodlibet (what pleases), combining fragments of rustic folk songs with the ground bass. Thus the three main elements are physical, emotional and intellectual.

The tonality is consistently G major, with the exception of G minor in three variations (Nos 15, 21, 25). There are several dance-inspired movements: minuet, passepied, polonaise, gigue. G major is a sunny key. Bach gives us the sensation of the joy of life, the joy of movement. We performers have to transmit this to the listeners. In the great 25th variation, which Wanda Landowska has called “The Black Pearl”, we are suddenly in the world of the Saint Matthew Passion.

After the last variation the opening Aria returns, unchanged. However we are hearing it with new ears because of the experiences of the past 70 minutes.

Bach was a deeply religious man, and this spirituality is ubiquitous, even in his secular music. This is obviously bad news for you and your master.

TDA: Hmm. Yes, we actually prefer Carmina Burana.

AS: A chacun son goût.