Bach — Goldberg variations
London, St Mary Le Strand Church
About the Event
Enjoy an exceptional performance of J.S. Bach's masterpiece, The Goldberg Variations by renowned harpsichordist David Wright, member of the leading baroque group Red Priest. A rare opportunity to hear a full performance of this outstanding work on the harpsichord in what's certain to be a concert to remember! Set in the beautiful candlelit location of St Mary Le Strand, London, it's a hugely appealing programme designed to help you celebrate the weekend in style! There's a good choice of bars and restaurants nearby to complete your night.
Wright David Wright is a musician of international acclaim who specialises in early keyboard instruments. Originally from London's East End, David was entirely self taught as a child until his late teens, he then went on to study at the Royal College of Music where he was the winner of numerous international competitions and prizes, most notably the Broadwood Harpsichord Competition. He pursues an extremely busy career as soloist, chamber musician and continuo player in orchestras and opera companies, recently recording with The Academy of Ancient Music. With an extensive discography to his credit, recent collaborations have included recordings with Tasmin Little, Julian Lloyd Webber, composer Debbie Wiseman (in the sound track to the BBC series Woolf Hall), the English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music and concerts with Ema Kirkby and James Bowman. After recording the monumental Goldberg Variations in 2007 David spent much of his time touring as a soloist until joining the blockbuster group Red Priest who now occupy most of his time with a busy international concert diary from America to the Far East. David has more recently been working with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields both as a modern pianist and harpsichordist. When not touring, David enjoys working on his crumbling Georgian house in Cambridgeshire which he shares with 9 harpsichords, 2 clavichords, 2 square pianos, 3 chamber organs and a cat called Jeremy.
Program
- Johann Sebastian Bach – Variations Goldberg
Artists
| Harpsichord: | David Wright |
|---|
Johann Sebastian Bach
The name Bach and the word musician had long been synonyms in Germany as the world saw 56 musicians from this kin. But it was Johann Sebastian Bach, a genius composer and virtuoso organ player, who shed lustre on his family name. He was born on th 31st of March 1685 in Eisenach, a small town in Thuringia. At the age of 10 he became an orphan and was brought up by his elder brother Johann Christoph, who was an organist in a neighbouring town. His brother was the one to teach music to the young Johann Sebastian. Later he moved to Luneburg where he attended a church school and mastered the techniques of playing violin, viola, piano and organ by the age of 17. Besides that, Bach was a choir singer and later after his voice broke he became a chanter’s assistant. In 1703 Bach was hired as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst III. He earned such a good reputation there that he was later invited to Arnstadt to be an organist at the New Church, where he wrote his best organ works. In 1723 he moved to Leipzig to be a chantor at St. Thomas Church where he stayed until his death of a stroke in 1750. In the year of his death he had undergone unsuccessful eye surgery which lead him to lose his eyesight. During that strenuous time his second wife Anna Magdalena helped him to write his last musical pieces. Bach’s artistic legacy is vast. He created compositions in all genres of the time: oratorias, cantatas, masses, motets, music for organ, piano and violin.
Address
St Mary Le Strand Church, Strand, London, United Kingdom — Google Maps
