Goldberg Variations | String Trio

‘I was so taken by the last recording Glenn Gould made of it: for me, that was something so different from everything I knew about Bach that I became almost obsessed with the piece. I wanted very much to be part of it. I thought a string trio would be a suitable combination and I started it as a pleasurable exercise for myself. I spent two months between tours and concerts arranging it, probably the most joyous two months I’ve ever spent with Bach. But now it’s taken on a life of its own: it’s become almost standard repertoire for string trios, and even a ballet was staged to it. I remember holding the score in my hand back in 1985, “Goldberg Variations for String Trio” published by Doblinger and the recording of it on Orfeo – it was something I’d done as a hobby and all of a sudden there it was!

That’s the wonderful thing about transcriptions: once you have finished it, your work is done. Being a performer, every concert is like a rehearsal for the next concert and it’s always a learning process. It gave me a serious impetus to do some more, and since I formed my chamber orchestra, I’ve done something around 50 transcriptions. I love transcribing; that’s really my hobby.’

Annebeth Webb, violin
Jeroen Woudstra, viola
Honorine Schaeffer, violoncello