J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988 Cédric Pescia

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750): Goldberg Variations, BWV 988:
• 1 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: I. Aria 02:12
• 2 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: II. Variatio 1 00:55
• 3 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: III. Variatio 2 00:52
• 4 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: IV. Variatio 3 Canone all'Unisono 00:57
• 5 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: V. Variatio 4 00:30
• 6 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: VI. Variatio 5 00:39
• 7 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: VII. Variatio 6. Canone alla Seconda 00:45
• 8 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: VIII. Variatio 7. Al tempo di Giga 00:57
• 9 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: IX. Variatio 8 00:51
• 10 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: X. Variatio 9. Canone alla Terza 01:01
• 11 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XI. Variatio 10 00:48
• 12 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XII. Variatio 11 00:55
• 13 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XIII. Variatio 12. Canone alla Quarta 01:04
• 14 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XIV. Variatio 13 02:35
• 15 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XV. Variatio 14 01:01
• 16 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XVI. Variatio 15. Canone alla Quinta. Andante 02:48
• 17 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XVII. Variatio 16 01:21
• 18 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XVIII. Variatio 17 00:50
• 19 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XIX. Variatio 18. Canone alla Sexta 00:42
• 20 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XX. Variatio 19 00:53
• 21 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXI. Variatio 20 00:52
• 22 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXII. Variatio 21. Canone alla Settima 01:20
• 23 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXIII. Variatio 22. Alla breve 00:40
• 24 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXIV. Variatio 23 01:00
• 25 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXV. Variatio 24. Canone all'Ottava 01:43
• 26 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXVI. Variatio 25. Adagio 05:35
• 27 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXVII. Variatio 26 01:01
• 28 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXVIII. Variatio 27. Canone alla Nona 00:50
• 29 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXIX. Variatio 28 01:02
• 30 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXX. Variatio 29 00:52
• 31 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXXI. Variatio 30. Quodlibet 00:54
• 32 Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: XXXII. Aria 02:50
• Total Runtime 41:15

Info for J. S. Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988

One just doesn’t decide to record Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations on a whim! A mountainous enigma, this work was never marked by self-evidence. It is constructed like a cathedral, built with tools of passion but also of modesty; an edifice that transcends us but also that one dreams of transcending. Nevertheless, Cédric Pescia did not hesitate for a moment when it came time to choose the stage for his first recording: it would be the Goldberg Variations or nothing else!

A sensitive and thoughtful musician, the Swiss pianist won the first prize at the Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition in Salt Lake City in 2002 and has been riding on a wave of success since then. He provides numerous thoughts about this work in the accompanying booklet, particularly about certain aspects of the interpretation: the instrument, the style, repetitions, etc. This is a recording that has been long in ripening, assuredly a great moment in music.

Cédric Pescia, piano

Cédric Pescia
pianist of dual French and Swiss nationality, was born in Lausanne. He studied with Christian Favre at the Conservatoire de Musique in Lausanne, later with Dominique Merlet at the Conservatoire de Musique in Geneva where he earned a Premier Prix de Virtuosité with honors and completed his studies with Klaus Hellwig at the Universität der Künste in Berlin.

In addition he has studied with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Daniel Barenboim, Henri Barda, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Ivan Klansky, Christian Zacharias, Ilan Gronich and with the Alban Berg Quartet. From 2003 until 2006 he was invited to attend the famous International Piano Academy, Lake Como (Italy) where he worked with Dimitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, William Grant Naboré, Menahem Pressler, Andreas Staier and Fou Ts´ong.

Cédric Pescia was the brilliant First Prize Winner (Gold Medalist) at the 2002 Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition in Salt Lake City (USA).

Concert tours have taken him throughout Europe, China, South America, North Africa and in the USA. He has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Hamburg Laieszhalle, the Mozarteum Salzburg, Carnegie Hall New York, Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, Wigmore Hall London, Tonhalle Zürich, Vienna Konzerthaus and has appeared in leading music festivals such as: Prague Spring Festival, Lucerne Festival, Menuhin Festival-Gstaad, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Davos Festival, Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, Les Muséiques Basel and Schubertiade Hohenems.

His orchestral appearances have been with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, the Utah Symphony, the Festival Strings of Luzern, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Ensemble Oriol Berlin, the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn, the Camerata Bern, the Basler Kammerorchester, the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, the Göttinger Symphonie Orchester and the Orchestre National de Lille.

In addition to his activities as a soloist, his love for chamber music regularly leads to performances with other eminent musicians. For many years Cédric Pescia has been working in close collaboration with violinist Nurit Stark.

He is founding member and artistic director of the Lausanne chamber music series Ensemble enScène.

In 2005 and 2007 he served as a jury member in the Clara Haskil Competition in Vevey.

He is giving master classes in the USA and in Europe, a.o. at the prestigious Accademia Pianistica Internazionale \"Incontri col Maestro\" in Imola, Italy.

In 2012 he was appointed professor for piano at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève.

In 2007, Cédric Pescia was honoured with the Prix Musique de la Fondation Vaudoise pour la culture. He was a also a prizewinner at the Bourse de la Fondation Leenaards in Lausanne. The duo Nurit Stark (violin) and Cédric Pescia is supported by the Forberg-Schneider Foundation.

For Claves Records, he has recorded Bach\'s Goldberg Variations, Schumann\'s complete works for piano solo (vol. 2 + vol. 5) and a CD of French music featuring Couperin, Messiaen and Debussy, F. Busoni\'s and G. Enescu\'s Violin and Piano Sonatas with Nurit Stark, as well as Beethoven\'s Piano sonatas op. 109, 110 and 111, six CDs which were unanimously acclaimed by the critics. His new recording John Cage : Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano is released by Aeon.

This album contains no booklet.