Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 Ji

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Bach, JS: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988:
• 1 I. Aria 02:35
• 2 II. Variation 1 a 1 clav. 01:46
• 3 III. Variation 2 a 1 clav. 01:10
• 4 IV. Variation 3 - Canone all Unisuono a 1 clav. 01:27
• 5 V. Variation 4 a 1 clav. 01:00
• 6 VI. Variation 5 a 1 o vero 2 clav. 00:39
• 7 VII. Variation 6 Canone alla seconda a 1 clav. 00:54
• 8 VIII. Variation 7 a 1 o vero 2 clav. 02:10
• 9 IX. Variation 8 a 2 clav. 00:50
• 10 X. Variation 9 Canone alla terza a 2 clav. 01:22
• 11 XI. Variation 10 Fughetta a 1 clav. 01:44
• 12 XII. Variation 11 a 2 clav. 00:53
• 13 XIII. Variation 12 a 2 clav. 01:33
• 14 XIV. Variation 13 a 2 clav. 04:28
• 15 Variation 14 a 2 clav. 01:27
• 16 Variation 15 Canone alla Quinta a 1 clav. 03:57
• 17 Variation 16 a 1 clav. Ouvertura 02:47
• 18 XVIII. Variation 17 a 2 clav. 00:56
• 19 Variation 18 Canone alla sexta a 1 clav. 01:29
• 20 XX. Variation 19 a 1 clav. 00:39
• 21 XXI. Variation 20 a 2 clav. 01:00
• 22 XXII. Variation 21 canone alla settima a 1 clav. 02:41
• 23 XXIII. Variation 22 a 1 clav. alla breve 01:44
• 24 XXIV. Variation 23 a 2 clav. 01:59
• 25 XXV. Variation 24 Canone alla Ottava a 1 clav. 01:32
• 26 XXVI. Variation 25 a 2 clav. 05:38
• 27 XXVII. Variation 26 a 2 clav. 01:46
• 28 XXVIII. Variation 27 Canone alla Nona a 2 clav. 00:52
• 29 XXIX. Variation 28 a 1 clav. 01:57
• 30 XXX. Variation 29 a 1 o vero 2 clav. 02:07
• 31 XXXI. Variation 30 a 1 clav. Quodlibet 01:54
• 32 XXXII. Aria da Capo e fine 03:15
• Total Runtime 01:00:11

Info for Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988

Wer ein Debütalbum aufnimmt, will alles zeigen, will virtuos auftrumpfen, Vielfalt demonstrieren, mitreißen. Und wenn man die Karriere des jungen koreanisch-gebürtigen Pianisten Ji verfolgt, dann hätte man vielleicht damit rechnen können, dass er Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann oder Rachmaninoff als vordergründig spektakulären Einstand bei Warner Classics wählt. Stattdessen: Johann Sebastian Bachs Goldberg-Variationen – eines der intellektuell anspruchs-vollsten Werke des Klavierrepertoires.

Die Emotionen hinter strenger Mathematik zu erspüren, die Feinheiten der gleichsam schon geometrisch konstruierten Variationen und ihre tiefen Geheimnisse zu ergründen, mag für andere Virtuosen ein Projekt der späten Reifezeit sein. Für Li ist Bachs zwischen strengen Kanons und atemberaubenden, improvisationsartig aufgebauten Teilen pendelnder Zyklus eine Musik voller Aufbruchsstimmung. »Wir leben in einer modernen Zeit, aber es ist unser Job, auch die Tradition aufrechtzuerhalten«, sagt Ji und fügt zu seiner Sicht auf Bach hinzu: »Ich empfinde es geradezu als magisch, dass ich mich über die Musik mit jemandem verbunden fühle, den ich niemals getroffen habe.« Seine frühe Reife konnte der Pianist bereits vielfach beweisen – als jüngster Gewinner der New York Philharmonic's Young Artist Competition mit zehn Jahren und als Absolvent der Juilliard School.

Ji, Klavier

Ji
Hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “a gifted young pianist who is clearly going places,” Ji has been praised from a young age for his compelling musical presence and impressive technical command. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Toronto Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Nashville Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Fairfax Symphony, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Philharmonic, Victoria Symphony, New Haven Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony, and the Brevard Festival Orchestra.

Winner of the 2012 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Ji made recital debuts at Merkin Concert Hall and the Kennedy Center on the Young Concert Artists Series to rave reviews. He has given recitals and educational outreach programs throughout the U.S. at the Harriman-Jewell Series, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society, the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, the Brownville Concert Series, the Evergreen Museum and Library, Mexico’s Centro Nacional de las Artes, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, Iowa State University, Saint Martin’s Abbey Church, La Jolla Music Society, San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival, the Morgan Library and Museum, the National Gallery of Art, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. He has also performed in four-hand recitals with Marika Bournaki at the Seoul Art Center and in a chamber music program of Charles Wadsworth and Friends.

Ji’s unique and varied career continues during the 2017-2018 season, which begins with performances at the Seoul Jazz Festival, at Germany’s Usedomer Musikfestival, recitals including a concert titled “Bach to the Future” at the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, and a concerto performance with the Arkansas Symphony. In 2017, he signed to Warner Classics as an exclusive recording artist. For his label debut, he has recorded Bach’s Goldberg Variations, to be released in January 2018. His previous albums are Bach Exhibition on the Credia label, and Lisztomania for Credia/Universal Music.

Well-known in Korea, Ji performed the country’s first outdoor classical concert as soloist with the BBC Symphony under Jirí Belohlávek; and performed in Seoul with world-renowned ballerina, Sue Jin Kang and dancers from the Stuttgart Ballet. Ji’s creative vision to make classical music accessible to young people led to his “Stop & Listen” outdoor “guerrilla” performances in 2010, during which he worked with renowned Korean pop-artist Tae Jung Kim to design the “Ji-T” piano, bringing classical music to the public on the busy streets of Seoul. He also collaborated with the Japanese electronic/house music singer FreeTEMPO. From 2008 to 2013, Ji performed as a member of the Ensemble DITTO in Korea and Japan with violinist Stefan Jackiw, violist Richard O’Neill, and cellist Michael Nicolas.

In early 2016, Ji was the star of a national Android commercial in which he performs Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata on two pianos, one that features the usual 88 pitches on a piano, and one that is tuned so that each key plays a middle C.

Ji began playing the piano at the age of five. At the age of ten, he was the youngest pianist to win the New York Philharmonic’s Young Artists Competition, resulting in a performance at Avery Fisher Hall under Maestro Kurt Masur. He graduated from the Juilliard School where he studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky.

Booklet for Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988