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Most pianists consider J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations to be one of the most important pieces of the keyboard literature. One of music’s finest examples of variation form, the work consists of thirty variations on an opening “Aria.” Most recordings of the complete work clock in at more than 70 minutes. So when a pianist undertakes performing the complete piece live, it’s a huge undertaking, both for the performer and audience.

Having experienced a rather tedious and somewhat incoherent live performance of the piece a few years ago, I must admit I was a bit apprehensive to undergo the experience again. Thankfully, UMKC Professor of Piano, Robert Weirich’s engaging interpretation last Saturday made me glad to give the live experience a second chance.

Overall, Weirich’s performance was marked by striking cohesiveness and lovely pacing, pushing through the demanding virtuosity of the piece with great finesse while subtly lingering on the more poignant moments. The opening aria began with a warm saccharine-toned melody and proceeded whimsically, taking moments to breathe, then, gliding along fancifully through the more ornate passages. Weirich proceeded through the first several variations resolutely with hardly a pause in between variations. This was nice for the listener, who was presented with smooth and flowing transitions between sections. However, this strong initial pace seemed to wear down Weirich’s endurance a bit during the sixth variation, rendering it too meandering. He took a markedly longer pause afterwards, and shortly into the seventh variation had regained my attention with his cheeky interpretation of Bach’s oafish gigue.

I was impressed by the rosy tenor-voice stretches of the ninth variation, the pianist’s interpretation easily bringing Bach’s allusion to the opening Aria to the listener’s attention. This was one of the most impressive aspects of Weirich’s playing. He had found all the hidden nuances in the piece and was keenly presenting them to the audience. For the Baroque sectional repeats throughout the work, I was glad that each section’s repeat was carefully planned with fresh ornaments and nuances and occasionally underwent a slight mood change as well.

I felt Weirich was at his best in the rich angular counterpoint of the piece, giving due attention to each voice’s entrance. In the fifteenth variation, he took care to communicate the languor of the first of three minor key variations, swaying a bit more with the music. It was during one of this variation’s more quiet moments that the audience was reminded of the stormy twilight of Saturday evening they had left outside when a faint rumble of thunder entered the hall. A sublime moment! Variation Twenty-five, the third in g minor, received a similar treatment. Weirich milked the aria’s anguished leaps and chromatic falls. The upper voice became a bit diva-like, with the left hand acting as a patient orchestra waiting to rejoin its soprano soloist on the next push forward.

Weirich had great fun with the fifth variation, athletically negotiating the complicated hand crossings Bach demands of the performer. The opening melodic voice in the right hand seemed to effortlessly leap back and forth over the melismatic scales of the left. Variation Twenty was again a dazzling technical display, visibly and audibly exciting some members of the audience. The variety of timbres, in combination with the virtuosity, was an added treat.

Variations Twenty-seven and Thirty saw Weirich conducting his left hand briefly with the right, perhaps pushing himself through the final minutes of the piece. At the da capo return of the Aria, the hall was remarkable still—the audience perhaps aware of its part in the communal journey of the piece. As was the case for the sectional repeats, the recap of the Aria was hardly a repeat. This reprise seemed more subdued, with a slightly less sweet tone. The end of the aria seemed to evaporate into space and the hall was quiet for a few moments more. Then, despite the half-capacity of White Recital Hall, Weirich received a robust and enthusiastic reception from the audience. It was well deserved.

REVIEW
Robert Weirich, piano
Faculty Recital: J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
Saturday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m.
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
White Recital Hall
James C. Olson Performing Arts Center
4949 Cherry St, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://conservatory.umkc.edu 

By Topher Levin

Classical Editor and Contributor

Christopher (Topher) Levin is a composer, pianist, music theorist, and music blogger based in Kansas City, MO. His compositions have been performed at music festivals across the US and in Europe. He has spent two summers in Paris, France studying music at the Ecole Normale de Musique through the EAMA program. His trio for clarinet, piano, and percussion is published in the SCI Journal of Scores.

Topher holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) in music theory and (M.M.) in composition and from James Madison University in Virginia (B.M.) in composition. Primary composition teachers have included John S. Hilliard, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Claude Baker, Narcis Bonet, Michel Merlet, and João Pedro Oliveira. His piano teachers have included Patricia Brady and Karen Kushner. Topher maintains a piano studio of 22 students.

Having recently completed a Master's thesis on the beautiful complexities of Chinary Ung's trio, Spiral I, Topher turned his writing attention to the more informal blogging medium. He has taken to it quite well, sharing posts on strange and wonderful music and art found across the web with a modest but growing number of blog followers. He looks forward to writing for KCM and sharing with its readers the stories of all the amazing musicians performing in Kansas City.